San Diego, California, April 7, 2010 -- Silicon Kinetics Inc., the pioneering life sciences tool company which introduced the world’s first 3D biosensor surface for label-free biomolecular interaction analysis, announced two additions to its Board of Directors: Dr. Rick Brown, formerly the CEO of MicroCal, acquired by GE Healthcare, and Dr. Eric Topol, Director of Scripps Translational Science Institute and Chief Academic Officer, Scripps Health.
Most recently, Dr. Brown has co-founded AVIA Biosystems to develop new biophysical methods to assess protein stability. Dr. Rick Brown joined MicroCal after Isis Pharmaceuticals, where he served as Vice President of Business Development and President of Isis’ functional genomics division, GeneTrove. Before Isis, Dr. Brown’s career included five years with Discovery Partners International (DPII) as President of IRORI, one of DPII operating companies, providing automated chemical synthesis systems and services to drug discovery laboratories. Earlier, Dr. Brown spent 17 years in various functions with companies involved in laboratory automation and analytical instruments used by life scientists in industry and academia. He received his BS in Chemistry from Massachusetts State College and his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Dr. Eric Topol serves as the Director of Scripps Translational Science Institute, http://www.stsiweb.org/ an NIH supported establishment that bridges clinical investigation with basic science, and trains physicians and scientists for careers in translational research. He is also the Chief Academic Officer, Scripps Health in San Diego, California. Prior to moving to San Diego, Dr. Topol was the Provost and Chief Academic Officer at the Cleveland Clinic, and Founder of the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. In addition to other numerous honors and awards, in 2004 Dr. Topol was elected to the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences. He received his BA from the University of Virginia, and his MD from the University of Rochester, New York.
Dr. Kenneth Tang, Chairman and CEO of Trex Enterprises, (http://www.trexenterprises.com/) the incubator and a major shareholder of Silicon Kinetics, also serves on the Board of Silicon Kinetics. Prior to forming Trex Enterprises as an independent company, Dr. Tang was Trex’ President under the umbrella of ThermoTrex Corporation, which was a publicly held subsidiary of Thermo Electron Corporation. He also served as Senior Vice President of ThermoTrex Corporation. In 1988, Thermo Electron acquired Western Research Corporation, which later became ThermoTrex. Dr. Tang was part of Western Research’s executive team and held the position of Vice President of Technological Development. Dr. Tang received his PhD in physical chemistry from Indiana University, and his undergraduate degree from Chung Yuan Christian College in Taiwan.
“All of our distinguished Directors share the same vision: developing Silicon Kinetics as the leader in label-free biomolecular interaction analysis, with industry-leading products and services for researchers in pharmaceutical and biotech industries and in academia,” said Hus Tigli, Chairman of The Board and CEO of Silicon Kinetics. “Dr. Tang and I welcome our new Directors, as they join us to advance Silicon Kinetics to the next stages.”
About Silicon Kinetics
Silicon Kinetics Inc. is a privately-held life sciences tools company headquartered in San Diego, California. The Company specializes in instruments for optical interferometry in nano-porous silicon biochips. The SKi Pro™ instrument platform and the 3D SKi Sensor™ biochips are used to detect protein-protein, protein-drug, or protein-DNA interactions in real-time and quantify binding kinetics, dissociation rates, or biomolecular affinity rankings, required for the study of disease pathways and the development and manufacturing of therapeutics. More information can be found at http://www.siliconkinetics.com
