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Marco A. Biamonte, Founder and Chief Executive Officer. Marco holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, and performed post-doctoral studies at the Swiss Institute for Technology (ETH-Z). Marco worked as a medicinal chemist in the pharmaceutical industry for 14 years, mostly in oncology. He co-led up to 3 projects simultaneously in 3 different therapeutic areas and managed up to 12 chemists. He and his colleagues have had success in advancing 2 new drugs into clinical trials (BIIB-021 and BIIB-028, respectively in Phase II and Phase I).
Sam Marton, Research Scientist II. Sam received a B.S. in Bioengineering from UCLA, where he researched magnetic nanoparticle bioconjugation for bloodstream infection diagnosis. He then interned at Tel Aviv University, programming the data analysis for large CRISPR datasets. During a 5-year tenure at nanoComposix, he brought a veterinary wellness assay from feasibility to market and guided conjugation scale-up to million-strip-per-year volumes. At Big Eye Diagnostics, he manages a commercialization effort, while also leading QMS development to obtain ISO 13485 certification.
Mykelti O’Brian, Research Scientist II. Mykelti received her M.S. in Biotechnology from the University of Nevada, Reno. During her time there, she 3D printed airway smooth muscle cells that she used to investigate miR-25’s role in asthma and the differentiation of this cell type. She started her industry career at Charles River Labs. In 2020, Mykelti moved to San Diego and started her Lateral Flow career at nanoComposix, where she worked to develop lateral flow assays. At Big Eye, Mykelti works to develop sensitive and specific lateral flow assays for Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Jean Saunders, Sr. Scientist. Jean earned her B.S. in Chemistry from San Diego State University, where her research was focused on synthesizing novel quantum dot precursors for biomedical imaging. She co-founded nanoComposix’s lateral flow division, pioneering new surface chemistries for attaching biomolecules to plasmonic nanoparticles. Transitioning to DCN Dx in 2018, Jean developed a low-cost, visually-read rapid test to diagnose a specific viral infection reaching sensitivity in the low fM range. Now at DDTD, she leverages over a decade of experience in point-of-care diagnostics to lead R&D efforts focused on affordable, sensitive assays for tropical disease eradication.
Lauren Boone, Associate Scientist. Lauren received her B.S in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of California, Davis. She began her career at DCN Diagnostics, where she worked with their Manufacturing and Technical Services group to bring several lateral flow assays to large scale manufacturing. In 2021, she joined NoniGenex, and was an integral member in the initial design and development of a rapid test for alpha-fetoprotein. At Big Eye Diagnostics, Lauren works to ensure that the company manufactures assays that are effective and reliable.
Justin Nueve, Research Associate. Justin received his B.S. in Cellular Molecular Biology from California State University San Marcos. During his time at CSUSM, Justin was part of a research lab that conducted a series of next generation sequencing along various soil types throughout the campus to determine microbial community structures. Upon graduating, Justin began his career as an intern at DTDD where he was introduced to diagnostics for neglected tropical diseases. Justin is now currently a research associate, where he assists in the various projects involving the research and development of detecting NTDs.