PEOPLE INTERVIEWED

  • Carl Ascoli, Ph.D.

    Carl Ascoli, Ph.D.
    Laboratory Director, CSO at Rockland Immunochemicals Inc.

    Carl Ascoli, Ph.D. is the Chief Science Officer of Rockland Immunochemicals and has more than 30 years of academic and industrial experience and a broad knowledge in virology, immunology, host-agent interaction, autoimmune diseases, cancer biology, antibody production and engineering, protein purification and DNA recombinant technology.


    Dr. Ascoli joined Rockland Immunochemicals in 1991 and began to apply his skills in molecular immunology to solve problems for academic collaborators who required the production of highly specific polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies for research. For more than 20 years Dr. Ascoli has established collaborations with principal investigators at academic and research throughout North America, Europe and Japan.
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  • Bob Balderas

    Bob Balderas, Ph.D.
    VP of Biological Sciences, BD Biosciences

    Bob Balderas is responsible for developing and driving R&D programs for BD Biosciences. As a corporate scientist, site manager, collaboration builder and marketer in the field of biotechnology, he has contributed to the growth of BD Biosciences and Pharmingen.


    He has more than three decades in leadership positions in both academia and the biotechnology industry. Mr. Balderas holds a MBA from the University of San Diego and received his BS degree in Microbiology from San Diego State University.
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  • Christian Carson, Ph.D.

    Christian Carson, Ph.D.
    Director of Antibody Development at BD Biosciences

    Christian Carson, PhD, is Director of Antibody Development at BD Biosciences in San Diego. He joined BD in 2007 and currently leads the Stem Cell and Cell Signaling Research Departments.
  • Katie Crosby

    Katie Crosby, Ph.D.
    Head of Immunohistochemistry, Cell Signaling Technology

  • Craig Monell, Ph.D.

    Craig Monell, Ph.D.
    VP of Business Operations, BioLegend

    Craig Monell, Ph.D., BioLegend’s Vice President of Business Operations, has 20+ years’ experience in the Biotechnology industry, including leadership roles in Marketing, Business Development, R&D, and Project Management at PharMingen/BD Biosciences, Bio-Carta, and Stratagene/Agilent Technologies.
  • Roberto Polakiewicz, Ph.D.

    Roberto Polakiewicz, Ph.D.
    Chief Scientific Officer, Cell Signaling Technology

    Roberto Polakiewicz, Ph.D., CST’s Chief Scientific Officer, has been responsible for Product and Technology innovation since 2005. His leadership has created the company's most valuable products and intellectual property.


    Dr. Polakiewicz has driven the successful implementation of four generations of novel antibody platform technologies critical for CST’s ongoing success. Prior to joining CST, Dr. Polakiewicz received his B.S. in Chemistry and Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and completed postdoctoral studies at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at M.I.T. Dr. Polakiewicz has published approximately 66 peer-reviewed publications, and is a named inventor on numerous patents and patent applications.
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  • John Schmitz

    John Schmitz, Ph.D.
    Co-Director of the Cancer Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics Facility, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center

    As Co-Director of the Cancer Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics Facility, Dr. Schmitz provides integrated pharmacodynamic (PD) services in support of translational and clinical research programs.

    This includes (a) facilitating patient sample acquisition, processing and storage, (b) analysis of serum-based biomarkers, (c) implementing existing NCI/CTEP PD assays, and (d) developing assays for measurement of novel PD endpoints. UPMC Hillman Cancer Center's PD lab has developed and validated a quantitative multiplexed immunoblot assay for detection of phosphorylation of ATM in patients treated with DNA damaging radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Dr. Schmitz’s basic research focuses on development of novel chemotherapeutic targets and agents for the treatment of human colorectal cancer (CRC). Research interests include identification and validation of traditional Chinese herbal medicines and/or natural compounds with anticancer activity by themselves and in combination with current therapies.
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  • Jürgen Schmitz, Ph.D.

    Jürgen Schmitz, Ph.D.
    Chief Scientific Officer, Miltenyi Biotec

    Jürgen Schmitz serves as the Chief Scientific Officer at Miltenyi Biotec GmbH in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany. He is part of the management board.


    Before joining the company in 1994, he started his scientific career at the Institute of Genetics, University of Cologne, where he wrote both his diploma thesis and his PhD thesis under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Andreas Radbruch. J.S. acquired a broad expertise in immunology including cellular and humoral immunology, which he constantly expanded. Today, he supervises a highly interdisciplinary team of about 260 employees, covering an entire spectrum of activities from basic research to applied research to product development. Tools for cell therapy and regenerative medicine have always been at the forefront of his activities at Miltenyi Biotec. J.S. is member of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), the American Association of Immunologists (AAI), the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT).
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