People - Scientific Advisors

MicroPhage realized from our inception that leveraging the expertise of those with a wealth of scienific knowledge would help propel the company forward. The following individuals are but a few of the scientific advisors MicroPhage regularly calls on for insight into fundamental microbiology that drives our novel technology.

Scientific Advisors:

Larry Gold, Ph.D. Director, Scientific Advisory Board Chairman. Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer SomaLogic, Inc (Boulder CO)

Dr. Gold is the founder of SomaLogic, Inc of Boulder CO. He was also the founder of NeXagen, which later became NeXstar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. Gold was a director at NeXstar from its inception in 1991 and was Chairman of the Board from February 1993 until July 1999. He was Executive Vice President of Research and Development of NeXstar from March 1991 to February 1995. In February 1995, he was named Chief Scientific Officer of NeXstar. From January 1981 to June 1988, Dr. Gold served as Co-Director of Research for Synergen, Inc. Dr. Gold was also a founder of Synergen. Dr. Gold has been a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU) since 1970. From 1988 to 1992, he also served as Chairman of the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology where he received the CU Distinguished Lectureship Award. While maintaining his affiliation with CU, Dr. Gold now has only minimal responsibilities at the university. Dr. Gold received the National Institutes of Health Merit Award and the Career Development Award and was awarded the Chiron prize for Biotechnology in 1995. Dr. Gold has been a member of the National Academy of Sciences since 1995 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 1993. Dr. Gold is also a member of MicroPhage’s Scientific Advisory Board and Bacteriophage Advisory Board.

Tom Blumenthal, Ph.D. Scientific Advisor Professor, Chairman, Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center

Dr Blumenthal is currently studying the genome organization of a small nematode worm,
C. elegans, as a tool for discovery in human medical genetics. Dr. Blumenthal earned his Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins in 1970.

Edward N. Brody, M.D., Ph.D. Scientific and Medical Advisor Chief Medical Officer, SomaLogic, Inc. Adjunct Professor, Molecular, Cellular, & Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder

Dr. Brody's professional career spans two continents and numerous professional interests. Among his positions, Dr. Brody has served at the Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique (Paris, France, 1970-1988), Centre de Genetique Moleculaire (Gif-sur-Yvette, France, 1988-1992 and 1996-1998), Professor and Chairman, Biology at SUNY (Buffalo, NY, 1992-1995), Vice President of Drug Discovery, NeXstar Pharmaceuticals (Boulder, CO, 1998-1999) and Chief Medical Officer, SomaLogic, Inc. (2000 - present). Dr. Brody has more than 60 publications to his credit, most of which are on bacteriophage and/or gene regulation processes. Dr. Brody earned both his M.D. and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Chicago.

Peter Gauss, Ph.D. Scientific Advisor, Bacteriophage Professor, Molecular Genetics, Western State College, Gunnison, Colorado

Dr. Gauss' area of research includes studies in microbiology, molecular genetics of procaryotic gene expression and DNA replication. He directs student research in the molecular genetics of a variety of microbes including fungi, bacteria and their viruses (bacteriophage). When not in his office, he can often be found fly-fishing on the banks of local streams and rivers. He earned his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University.

Roger Hendrix, PhD Scientific Advisor, Bacteriophage Professor, Biological Sciences Co-Director, Pittsburgh Bacteriophage Institute, University of Pittsburgh

Dr. Hendrix' research specializes in mechanisms of assembly and principles of structure in bacterial viruses, bacteriophage genetics, gene regulation and structural biology. He earned his Ph.D. under James Watson at Harvard University in 1970.

Richard Proctor, MD Scientific Advisor, Staphylococci Professor, Medical Microbiology and Immunology Professor, Department of Medicine University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Medicine and Public Health

Dr. Proctor's research interests include: Bacterial pathogenesis: Defining host-bacterial interactions at cellular and molecular levels. Clone and characterize S. aureus genes involved in electron transport and signaling that controls toxin production. Define molecular and biochemical pathways of endotoxin activation of macrophages; inhibition of endotoxin activity by adenine nucleotide derivatives. He earned his M.D. at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor in 1970.

David Shub, Ph.D. Scientific Advisor, Bacteriophage Professor, Director, Center for Molecular Genetics, State University of New York-Albany

Dr Shub's professional areas of interest include: origin, evolution and function of self-splicing introns; intron homing and homing endonucleases; and horizontal gene transfer. “The odd thing about bacteriophages is how frequently they surprise us,” he told Current Biology. “For example, the large subunit topoisomerase gene of phage T4 (and some close relatives) is split into two cistrons, one of which requires the ribosome to make a 50-nucleotide jump during translation.” Cistron is another word for gene. Shub said it is “bizarre” for a ribosome to behave in this manner and although the experimental evidence is clear, “It should NOT be able to do this.” Shub consulted with a leading scientist in the field, who agreed with the validity of the evidence, even though current ideas about ribosome structure suggest it should be impossible. “When something happens like that, you gotta love it,” Shub said. He earned his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.).

Britta Singer, Ph.D. Scientific Advisor, Bacteriophage Medical Scientist, SomaLogic, Inc.

Dr Singer has been active in viral and bacteriophage research since the early days of her career. An author of SomaLogic's SELEX process, Dr. Singer has contributed to the development of bacteriophage and aptamer research for more than 30 years both in industry and at her research position at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She earned her Ph.D. in Genetics at the University of Connecticut in 1974 and conducted postgraduate fellowships at both the American Cancer Society and National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Greg Somerville , Ph.D. Scientific Advisor, Staphylococcus aureus Assistant Professor, Biochemistry, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Dr. Somerville's work focus is the elucidation of mechanisms by which Staphylococcus aureus controls virulence factor production in response to nutrient limitation. In particular, my work involves understanding the role of the tricarboxylic acid cycle enzyme aconitase in Staphylococcal pathogenesis. Aconitase is an iron-sulfur cluster-containing enzyme that catalyzes the reversible isomerization of citrate to isocitrate. In addition to its enzymatic activity, aconitase can bind to specific mRNAs and posttranscriptionally regulate message stability or translation. Understanding the regulatory function of S. aureus aconitase will aid in the antimicrobial discovery process and potentially provide new therapeutic targets.