Bill Jackson, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Scientist
Dr. Jackson has served as Principal Investigator on over $5M in Small Business and Innovation Research grants. Dr. Jackson is also a recognized leader in the aptamer space having authored twelve peer-reviewed publications on aptamers as well as 50+ posters and conference proceedings. In 2010 he co-authored the first market research report on aptamers. Dr. Jackson is inventor on twelve issued U.S. patents (and many corresponding international filings) as well as numerous patents pending. Dr. Jackson holds a B.S. in biomedical engineering and a B.A. in Spanish literature from Texas A&M University and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Houston.
Alex Chiu, Ph. D., Director of Laboratory Operations
Dr. Chiu is a multidisciplinary scientist who has presented research findings across the globe including in Australia, Europe and the USA. Dr. Chiu has published in a range of different fields including, neurodegenerative disease, environmental toxicology, regenerative medicine and also aptamer development. At Base Pair Dr. Chiu has also played a number of different roles, initially joining the company as a staff scientist, before moving into a business development role, and is now the director of laboratory operations. Dr. Chiu holds a B.Sc. in biotechnology, a Grad. Dip. in research management and commercialization, and a Ph.D. in microbiology, all from the University of New South Wales.
Ashok Gowda, Ph. D., co-Founder and Board Member
Dr. Gowda is a founder and CEO of the Houston-based medical technology developer and manufacturer, Biotex, Inc. To date, under his direction, the company has raised over $20M in non-dilutive funding, successfully licensed numerous early-stage technologies, spun out three separate companies (Visualase, Inc., Base Pair Biotechnologies, Inc., E-SAFE Medical, Inc.), all of which successfully raised private capital. At Biotex, Dr. Gowda oversees internal development programs as well as partnering activities, where the company works with other entrepreneurs and start-ups to develop and bring novel medical technologies to market. Previously, Dr. Gowda co-founded and served as Chief Operating Officer at Visualase, Inc., which was acquired by Medtronic for up to $105M in late 2014.
Dr. Gowda is an active investor, advisor, and board member for a number of early-stage medical technology companies. Dr. Gowda has served as principal investigator on more than 15 NIH grants, authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications and abstracts, and is an inventor on more than 20 issued patents. Dr. Gowda received his Bachelor of Engineering degree in Biomedical Engineering from Vanderbilt University and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Bioengineering from Texas A&M University.
Christopher Quan, Esq., General Counsel
Christopher has more than 12 years of experience working in intellectual property and legal segments in biotechnology, dental and engineering small companies with extensive work in patent prosecution, research and development practices and intellectual property licensing. Christopher holds a B.S. in biomedical engineering from the University of Rochester and a J.D. from the University of Houston. He is a registered U.S. patent attorney and is admitted to the bar in Texas.