CAMBRIDGE, Mass., (March 20, 2006) - Genstruct Inc., a knowledge-driven discovery company using systems biology to increase the effectiveness of drug discovery and development, today announced the promotion of Dexter Pratt to vice president, Knowledge Modeling. In his new role, Mr. Pratt will provide the architectural design and modeling strategy for the company.
"Dexter has been a critical driving force behind the design and utilization of our causal modeling platform. He was an integral part of the design and development team for the Knowledge Modeling architecture that forms the basis for our technology platform," said Keith O. Elliston, Ph.D., president and CEO of Genstruct. "He has led numerous projects at Genstruct, including our internal prostate cancer program and our diabetes program with Pfizer. He has demonstrated the leadership and ability that is characteristic of a senior executive, and proven his commitment to the success of Genstruct. Through this promotion, we recognize Dexter as the key technical lead for the modeling platform and acknowledge his dedication, hard work and commitment to our business."
Mr. Pratt began consulting for Genstruct in 2002, working closely with the company's founding chief technology officer (CTO), Navin Chandra, and in 2003 joined the company as its director of Biological Systems Modeling. While with Genstruct, Mr. Pratt has served as a technical team leader, software developer and platform architect, while also performing as biology project leader, team member and principal investigator for Genstruct's internal and partnered projects.
Mr. Pratt has an extremely strong background in artificial intelligence. He was a member of the research staff at the M.I.T. Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, where he worked on the team developing LISP hardware prototypes. In 1981, he joined LISP Machine, Inc., where he became the director of the User Interface Group and participated in the design and implementation of both hardware and software, including the development of a 1,000 chip LISP processor. In 1989, Mr. Pratt joined the CYC project, where he spent seven years developing novel knowledge representation systems and inference mechanisms for a groundbreaking, large-scale common sense reasoning system.
Mr. Pratt is also quite accomplished in scientific education, having worked with Addison Wesley Longman as the manager of the Internet Media Group, and director of KnowZone for Pearson Education. Additionally, he has extensive startup experience, having served as the CTO for two internet media companies: Webkick and CineMetrix, where he was the technical architect of their respective platforms. He also has a strong interest in biology and biochemistry, stemming from his undergraduate degree in chemistry from Yale. Mr. Pratt exercised these interests and talents as an independent consultant, developing protein analysis software and biological process animations.
About Genstruct Founded in 2002, Genstruct is a knowledge-driven discovery company focused on pioneering new approaches to the understanding and treatment of complex diseases in the areas of oncology, metabolic disorders and inflammation. Genstruct has developed proprietary technologies for the discovery of biomarkers, disease pathways and compound mechanisms of action (MOA). Genstruct engages in internal discovery and external development partnerships which apply systems biology to accelerate and increase the output of drug discovery and development programs. The privately held company is based in Cambridge, Mass., and its investors include Flagship Ventures and A. M. Pappas & Associates. For more information, please visit www.genstruct.com.
