Katherine A. Richardson, Ph.D.

Technical Director, Laboratory Services
Dr. Richardson is Technical Director for Laboratory Services. She holds an S.B. degree in life sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in molecular cellular developmental biology from Iowa State University. Dr. Richardson has more than 25 years of molecular biology laboratory experience. She joins Transgenomic following eight years as a scientist with OSI Pharmaceuticals, where she specialized in molecular biology research and development in the area of oncology. Previously Dr. Richardson was with Eli Lilly and Company for nine years as a senior toxicologist specializing in genetic toxicology and molecular carcinogenesis. Dr. Richardson has to her credit nearly 60 publications, abstracts and presentations at scientific conferences, and she was part of the group at Eli Lilly that identified the link between the BRCA-1 gene and hereditary breast cancer.
 

Zoran Gatalica, M.D., D. Sc.

Professor, Pathology and Director, Anatomic Pathology – Medical Director
Dr. Zoran is Professor of Pathology and Director of Surgical Pathology at Creighton University Medical Center and Omaha Veterans Hospital. Dr. Gatalica is board certified in the American Board of Pathology in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology. Dr. Gatalica received his M.D., D.Sc. from the University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Croatia and completed his residency in Pathology (AP/CP) at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Gatalica is actively involved in Anatomic Pathology diagnoses disease based on the examination of patient cells, tissues and organs. He conducts basic and translational research along with teaching towards the goal of increasing the recognition of organ-directed disease processes and furthering diagnostic techniques such as electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry and molecular diagnostics.

Warren G. Sanger, Ph.D., FACMG

Director, Human Genetics Laboratory Professor, Pediatrics & Pathology/Microbiology
Dr. Warren Sanger, Professor of Pediatrics and Pathology, and Director of the Human Genetics Laboratory and Clinical Genetics, at the Munroe-Meyer Institute. Dr. Sanger received his Ph.D. in Genetics in 1974. He has written over 200 publications and book chapters, over 300 abstracts and posters, received numerous research grants, and he is an international world-renowned speaker. He played a key role in providing the genetic testing for a major scientific breakthrough in which scientists for the first time successfully derived embryonic stem cells by reprogramming the genetic material from skin cells while studying rhesus macaque monkeys. Dr. Sanger is American Board of Medical Genetics certified as a Clinical Cytogeneticist and Ph.D. Medical Geneticist.

Gary Gerard, Ph.D.

Vice President, Enzymology Research and Development
Dr. Gerard is Vice President of the Enzymology Research and Development Group at the Transgenomic Pharmacogenomics Research Center in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Dr. Gerard was trained as a classical enzymologist at Pennsylvania State University (B.S. in Biochemistry) and Michigan State University (Ph.D. in Biochemistry). His post-doctoral training at the Institute for Molecular Virology at St. Louis University School of Medicine was focused on the enzymology of retroviral replication. Here, Dr. Gerard continued his research on retroviral replication becoming an Assistant Professor in 1973 and an Associate Professor in 1977. In 1982, he joined Bethesda Research Laboratories (later to become Life Technologies, Inc.) as Section Head, RNA Enzymology and spent the next 20 years leading efforts focused on applied basic research and development of nucleic acid modifying enzymes and associated reagents resulting in the marketing of scores of new LTI products becoming a Director in 1985. Dr. Gerard joined Transgenomic in 2002 as Vice President of Research and Development to initiate an in-house research and development program focused on enzyme-based mutation detection. To date the program has generated a number of products, including the SURVEYOR^® Nuclease line of mutation detection kits among other marketable products and applications. Dr. Gerard’s scientific contributions further include authoring over 75 publications, a book chapter and 15 issued or pending patents.

Benjamin L. Legendre, Jr., Ph.D.
 

Senior Research Scientist
Dr. Legendre is a Senior Research Scientist at Transgenomic. He received a B.S. in Biology and Chemistry at Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, LA and his Ph.D. in Bioanalytical Chemistry at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA. He has been employed at Transgenomic, Inc., for over 10 years, where he has worked in the areas of separation chemistries and methodologies as well as instrumentation development for high sensitivity mutation detection. Presently, his work focuses on the research and development of new oncology- and mitochondrial-based molecular diagnostic assays for clinical applications and clinical trials. In addition, he is working on optimized protocols for high sensitivity mutation screening of large gene(s) using Transgenomic reagents and mutation detection platforms. These assays screen genomic samples for either germline (inherited) or somatic (acquired) mutations. His research contributions include publications on gene mutation identification. He is also is co-inventor on numerous patents involving separations methodologies.

Grant Wu, M.B., M.A.

Senior Applications Scientist
Dr. Wu is a Senior Application Scientist at Transgenomic. After receiving his M.B (equivalent M.D.) from Capital University of Medical Science, China, he finished his residency in Internal Medicine at Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, China, and then received his two years research fellowship at Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE. He also received his M.A. in Molecular Biology from University of Nebraska at Omaha. He spent five years of post-doctoral research at Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center. He joined Transgenomic in 2000. He is involved in research and development of new molecular diagnostic tests for clinical applications and pharmacogenetic genotyping. His research contributions are publications on gene mutation identification and clinical diagnostics.

Reyes Candau, Ph.D.

Senior Scientist
Dr. Candau is a Senior Scientist at the Transgenomic Pharmacogenomics Research Center in Gaithersburg, Maryland and received her Ph.D. in Biology from the UNIVERSIDAD DE SEVILLA, Seville, Spain. With over 17 years in biomedical research and development, Dr, Candau joined Transgenomic in 2006 bringing her expertise in molecular genetics with a specialty in developing and screening knock-out systems in bacteria and yeast, transfection systems in mammalian cells and protein expression. Currently, her work focuses on the research and development of assays and applications for the detection of low-level mutations and polymorphisms.

Yanggu Shi, Ph.D.

Senior Research Scientist
Dr. Shi is a Senior Scientist at the Transgenomic Pharmacogenomics Research Center in Gaithersburg, Maryland and received his Ph.D. and M.S. in Biochemistry from the New York University School of Medicine and a B.S. in Cell Biology from Peking University, China. Joining Transgenomic in 2004, Dr. Shi brings over 20 years experience in somatic/germline nuclear and mitochondrial genetic variation analysis of genetic diseases. In addition, Dr. Shi brings a wealth of experience in molecular modeling and protein engineering, virology, clinical assay validation for clinical trials as well as pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic analysis and design.

Ying Han, Ph.D.

Senior Research Scientist
Dr. Han is a Senior Research Scientist at the Transgenomic Pharmacogenomics Research Center in Gaithersburg, Maryland. She received her Masters Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Chemical Technology (Shanghai Branch) East China and her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. Han has over 20 years experience in biomedical research specializing in protein chemistry and purification including recombinant and fusion protein design, expression and purification. Her work also specializes in transcription activation and regulation, cDNA array and oligo array technology as well as reverse transcriptase regulation and dynamics. Prior to joining Transgenomic in 2002, she was a Senior Scientist at SuperArray Bioscience Corporation and led all R&D and product development activities in the PCR and Gene function product development group. Her scientific contributions further include numerous publications and presentations.

Sandra J. Gunselman, Ph.D.

Senior Research Scientist
Dr. Gunselman is a Senior Research Scientist at Transgenomic. She received a B.S. in Biology from David Lipscomb University, Nashville, TN and a Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Biology from Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO. Dr. Gunselman spent 5 years at Pacific Northwest Research Foundation under the mentorship of Donald C. Malins. PhD, DSc, where her research focused on developing mass spectrometric and FT-IR methodologies for the early detection of breast cancer.  Dr. Gunselman conducted her post-doctoral training at the Eppley Cancer Center and subsequently became an Assistant Professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She is the co-inventor of a patent for her work in the development of a synthetic vaccine for melanoma while at UNMC. Dr. Gunselman joined Transgenomic in 2008 focusing her efforts on the establishment of a proteomics laboratory for the development of new and unique diagnostic assays for neurodegeneration, mitochondrial diseases and autism. Dr. Gunselman’s has authored numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals including Nature Medicine.

Harini Shandilya

Senior Research Scientist
Harini Shandilya is a Research Scientist at the Transgenomic Pharmacogenomics Research Center in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Harini received her Masters Degree in Biochemistry from Villanova University-Pennsylvania with an emphasis in cellular and molecular biology and has over 10 years experience in biomedical research specializing in enzyme and protein chemistry, and purification including vector design, cloning, site-directed mutagenesis and protein expression systems. Currently her work focuses on research applications for SURVEYOR^® Nuclease — a mismatch-specific endonuclease — supporting pharmaceutical and research institutions discovery initiatives as well as assay design and validation.