Colossal Biosciences: Beth Shapiro
Beth Shapiro has joined Colossal Biosciences as CSO. In this role, she will oversee the continued expansion of the company's de-extinction and conservation science teams. Shapiro was previously a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and lead of the paleogenomics laboratory at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has also served as an adviser to Colossal since its founding.
Shapiro is a MacArthur Genius Grant Award winner and a pioneer in the fields of ancient DNA and paleogenomics. During her Ph.D. research at the University of Oxford, Shapiro generated the first DNA data from a dodo and used this to determine that this extinct animal was actually a type of pigeon. She also garnered a Royal Society university research fellowship and senior research fellowship at Balliol College, Oxford, and served as director of the Henry Wellcome Biomolecules Centre. Shapiro also held a faculty position in biology at Penn State University prior to joining UCSC in 2012.
Abcam: Markus Lusser
Markus Lusser has been named the new president of Abcam, which was acquired by Danaher last year for $5.7 billion. Lusser is a longtime Danaher executive, having joined the company in 2011 and most recently serving as VP and chief customer officer for the Life Sciences Innovation Group. Prior to that, he was president of Leica Microsystems, a Danaher company. He also previously worked for Siemens Healthineers for 20 years. He holds a degree in engineering in electronics from HTBLA in Innsbruck, Austria.
Cytek Biosciences: William McCombe
Cell analysis technology company Cytek Biosciences has appointed William McCombe as CFO. McCombe previously served as CFO at Velo3D, which produced metal 3D printing systems for the aerospace and other industries. He was also CFO at HZO, a company specializing in protective nano coatings for electronics; and executive VP and CFO at satellite and space imaging company Maxar Technologies.
McCombe also spent more than 20 years as an investment banker, including as a managing director at Morgan Stanley and at Bank of America. McCombe holds an MBA from Columbia University, and bachelor of laws and bachelor of commerce degrees from the University of Melbourne.
Quantum-Si: Paula Dowdy
Protein sequencing firm Quantum-Si has appointed Paula Dowdy to its board of directors. Dowdy currently serves on the board of directors for SPT Labtech and is an adviser at EQT Life Sciences. Previously, she was Illumina's senior VP and general manager of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Prior to that, Dowdy spent more than 20 years at Cisco Systems. She holds an MBA from Pepperdine University and B.A. degree from the University of California, Berkeley.
Nodexus: William Rhodes
Nodexus, a company specializing in automated benchtop single-cell characterization and microfluidic isolation technologies, has named William Rhodes as executive chairman of the board of directors. Rhodes has served as an independent director since 2021 and was previously an adviser to the company. Rhodes spent 16 years at Becton Dickinson, including as senior VP of corporate strategy and development and worldwide president of BD Biosciences. He was also responsible for creating BD Ventures, the venture capital arm of BD. Prior to BD, he held senior positions at Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer. Rhodes holds a B.S. degree from Cornell University and a master's degree in international business from Seton Hall University.
Applied BioCode: Chris Bernard, Winston Ho
Applied BioCode, an IVD manufacturer that designs, develops, and commercializes multiplex testing products, has announced the retirement of CEO Chris Bernard, who had served in the role for two years. Winston Ho, founder and president, will fill the role of CEO until a new one is appointed, the company said.
Circular Genomics: Michael Ackermann
Circular Genomics appointed Michael Ackermann to its scientific advisory board. Ackermann previously served as senior VP of Quintiles and cofounded the angel fund AB Collaborative Investment, where he also serves as president. Ackermann has held multiple positions as a member of the board of directors or consultant to Fortune 500 and startup companies in the biopharma sector. Since 2015, he has been serving as cofounder, board member, and chief business officer at Arrivo BioVentures. Ackermann began his career at Eli Lilly and Co.
VolitionRx: Andrew Retter
VolitionRx has appointed Andrew Retter as its chief medical officer, effective April 1. He is an intensive care consultant at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust in London, where he leads clinical governance in critical care. A specialist in managing severe respiratory failure, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and thrombosis, Retter has advised VolitionRx since January 2022 in the development of the company's Nu.Q NETs, a blood-based test for detecting diseases associated with NETosis, a form of cell death, including sepsis.
Seek Labs: Michael Paul
Seek Labs, a company developing point-of-care molecular diagnostics and CRISPR-based gene therapies, has appointed Michael Paul to its board of directors. Paul is CEO, president, and director of MARAbio, a precision immunology biotechnology company developing technologies to detect maternal autoantibody-related autism (MARA). Prior to this, he cofounded in 2006 Lineagen, where he served as president, CEO, and director through its acquisition in 2020. He holds a B.A. from Colby College and a Ph.D. in molecular biology and biochemistry from the University of Utah.
For additional recent items on executive appointments, promotions, and departures in the omics and molecular diagnostics space, please see the People in the News page on our website.