Zhongde Wang, PhD. Director
Co-founder, Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Wang is an expert in animal genetic engineering and epigenetics in animal cloning by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). Working with the research team that produced the world first transgenic cattle by SCNT, he made great contributions to the development of a novel cattle cloning technique which led to the production of calves that were among the very first cloned cattle (Nat Biotech 2001). Dr. Wang served as an Exc. Director at Hematech Inc. (now SAB Biotherapeutics Inc.) where his research teams successfully established the transchromosomic (Tc) cattle platform for fully-human antibody production. He is now a professor in the Department of Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences at Utah State University.
Dr. Wang obtained his PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and conducted his postdoctoral training at MIT/Whitehead Institute.
Michail Sitkovsky, PhD. Director
Co-founder
Dr. Sitkovsky is credited with the landmark discovery of hypoxia-adenosinergic regulation of cells that plays a fundamental role in physiological and pathophysiological mechanisms of disease. This discovery led to the creation of a new industry focus with many start-ups and established global pharmaceutical companies conducting clinical trials of the conceptually novel immunotherapeutic, anti-hypoxia-A2-adenosinergic drugs. Several of the ongoing Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials resulted in promising tumor rejections and life prolongation of cancer patients who were otherwise refractory to all current cancer therapies. One of the important biotechnological spin-offs of this discovery was in biophysical and biochemical reformulation of routine in vitro cell culture in order to better reproduce the in vivo tissue microenvironments and thereby support the physiologically relevant gene expression, epigenetic integrity of immune cells, other somatic cells, stem cells, and healthy embryos for animal cloning.
Dr. Sitkovsky is the Founder and Director of the New England Inflammation and Tissue Protection Institute, and Professor and Eleanor W. Black Chair of immunophysiology and pharmaceutical biotechnology, Northeastern University, Boston. He also was appointed as Presidential Scholar at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School.