Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Keith Stewart
Dr. Stewart of the Department of Internal Medicine at the Mayo Clinic holds the rank of professor of medicine while being awarded the Vasek and Anna Maria Polak Professorship in Cancer Research. Having earned his medical degree at the Aberdeen University Medical School in the United Kingdom and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario in Canada, Dr. Stewart’s research focuses on the fundamental biological aspects and treatment of multiple myeloma.
Dr. Stewart is also a member of the Royal College of Physicians in London, a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in Canada, specialist in hematology at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and serves on the American Board of Internal Medicine.
David Gelfand, Ph.D.
Collaborateur International Expert Etranger. Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et Centre National de Génotypage, and Chief Scientific Officer at WaferGen Biosystems, Inc.
Dr. Gelfand graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a Ph.D. in Biology. Dr Gelfand currently holds over 50 patents and has amassed a wide breadth of industry knowledge through his over 30 years of industry experience, which included posts at Roche Molecular Systems where he played a leading role in developing Designer DNA Polymerases for molecular diagnostics and in the emergence and evolution of DNA sequencing, and at Cetus Corporation where he helped pioneer one of the cornerstones of modern day molecular biology, the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). In addition to these aforementioned accomplishments, Dr. Gelfand also received the United States Distinguished Inventor Award in 1990 for Taq DNA Polymerase.
Currently, Dr. Gelfand serves as the Chief Scientific Officer at WaferGen Biosystems, Inc., a company that develops Real-time PCR based microarrays for target discovery and validation. Dr. Gelfand also collaborates with the Centre National de Génotypage as an international expert.
Cynthia French, Ph.D., MBA
Chief Scientific Officer at Exiqon, Inc.
Dr. French graduated from the University of California, Irvine with her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry along with an MBA. Dr. French possesses over 25 years of industry experience in the fields of R&D, technical operations, regulatory affairs, marketing, and business administration with positions at Affymetrix and Quest.
Dr. French most recently served as the Chief Scientific Officer for Exiqon, Inc., a company focusing on searching for microRNA biomarkers for various cancers and applying biomarkers to the development of companion diagnostics.
Craig Keyes, M.D.
Dr. Keyes is formerly an executive with United Health Group, holding such positions as President and CEO of UnitedHealthcare of Colorado, CEO of UnitedHealthcare of New York Tri-State, National SVP of Sales, and Chief Medical Officer, Northern Division. Having earned his medical degree at the University of Wisconsin and MBA from Columbia University School of Business, Dr. Keyes is Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Geriatric Medicine. He is a member of the American College of Physicians. Dr. Keyes served on the Managed Care Advisory Board at Quest Diagnostics where he advised the Company on the reimbursement profile of new, innovative diagnostic tests being considered for launch in the physician market.