Founder & CEO

A biotech executive with a graduate degree in Clinical Microbiology and 24 years of laboratory experience in biotechnology, molecular biology, and pharmaceutical R&D (18 in startups). In those 24 years, he has had the privilege of leading exciting projects such as building a nationally recognized, multi-site quality control laboratory network from scratch. His work includes several molecular biology and diagnostic focused patents and roles as an expert witness in legal cases spanning Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan. As a member of international standards committees like AOAC, ASTM, and CANN, he has contributed his experience to help guide and shape national and international industry standards.

COO, Atterx Biotherapeutics Advisor

Dr. Watt has been with Atterx since 2006. Previous to joining Atterx, he held senior management positions as Director of Cell Biology & Transgenesis at Infigen, Inc. and as Director of Government Programs at OpGen, Inc. He received a B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Microbiology from the University of Guelph, Canada followed by a post-doctoral position at the University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. Dr. Watt has nearly 20 years of experience in the development of novel biologics/pharmaceuticals for various diseases/infections.

VP, Helma USA & Scientific Cell Co. Advisor

Evan Friedmann is Vice President of Scientific Cell Company, a Long Island–based master distributor and development partner for onsite analytical testing solutions. With 16 years at the company, he is active in several professional organizations, including AOAC CASP and ACS CANN, where he serves as Program Chair. Evan is also Vice Chair of the AOAC Annual Meeting Technical Programming Council and a member of the Cannabis Science Conference Educational Steering Committee.

President & CEO Verne Bioanalytics Advisor

Dr. Nathan Johnson, Ph.D. is the President & CEO of Verne Bio. He has a hybrid of microbiology, molecular biology, and bioinformatics expertise across 15 years for food testing, oncology, immunology, stem cell biology, animal model development, and plant-related efforts. He has published peer-review scientific papers including in prestigious journals such as Nature, Cell, and Science, and held positions such as Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Takeda, H3 Biomedicine, and Mouse and Rat Resource Centers. He holds a Ph.D. in Bioinformatics & Computational Biology, MS in Biomedical Sciences, and a BS in biology and minor in chemistry.