Dr. Richard Mathies' work in the area of biotechnology and the Human Genome Project led to the development of new high-speed, high-throughput DNA analysis technologies such as capillary array electrophoresis and energy transfer (ET) fluorescent dye labels for DNA sequencing and analysis. In particular, his development of ET fluorescent labels was critical to the early completion of the Human Genome sequence. He also pioneered the development of microfabricated capillary electrophoresis devices and microfabricated integrated sample preparation and detection methods for lab-on-a-chip analysis systems that are being applied to DNA sequencing, diagnostics, forensics, pathogen detection, and space exploration.

Dr. Mathies has been Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Center for Analytical Biotechnology at the University of California at Berkeley since 1976. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Washington. He earned his Master’s degree and Ph. D. in Physical Chemistry at Cornell University from Andreas Albrecht. He completed two years of postdoctoral study as a Helen Hay Whitney Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale with Lubert Stryer.

Dr. Mathies is author of over 350 publications and patents on photochemistry, photobiology, bioanalytical chemistry and genome analysis technology.

A veteran entrepreneur, Dr. Mostafa Ronaghi has been at the forefront of technological research for over 10 years. He co-founded Pyrosequencing AB, and launched a successful IPO on the Stockholm Stock Exchange in 2000. The genomics company has since acquired three companies and been renamed Biotage. Dr. Ronaghi then co-founded ParAllele BioScience, a company that developed and marketed highly multiplexed technology for genetic testing. ParAllele was acquired by Affymetrix in May of 2005. That same year, Dr. Ronaghi co-founded yet another venture, NextBio. This search engine for life science data is now a viable commercial product.

Dr. Ronaghi is currently a principal investigator at Stanford University, focusing on developing novel tools for molecular diagnostics. He earned his Ph.D. from The Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden. Dr. Ronaghi holds more than 20 pending and issued patents and has written more than 50 peer-reviewed publications in journals and books.

Dr. Allan Tereba has made significant contributions in the area of forensics over the last 10 years. He helped develop the first 16 locus single amplification multiplex currently used in DNA identification, and he developed and patented an automatable chemistry for obtaining pure DNA from very contaminated forensic casework samples. This chemistry also delivered a constant amount of DNA from various database samples, eliminating the need for DNA quantification. Using this chemistry in collaboration with the Virginia Division of Forensic Sciences, he developed the first successful high-throughput, automated DNA purification system for casework samples. Additional chemistries and hardware were developed for high throughput processing of both casework and database samples at all stages of the process.

Dr. Tereba currently consults with various forensic groups. He was formerly at Promega Corporation where he developed products in nucleic acid synthesis and signal transduction and later joined their forensic group. Dr. Tereba was also a faculty member in the Department of Virology and Molecular Biology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital where he studied the chromosomal location of endogenous retroviruses and oncogenes and the chromosomal abnormalities and amplification mechanism of the N-myc oncogene associated with neuroblastoma.

Dr. Tereba earned his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at Indiana University and his Ph. D. in Biochemistry at the University of Washington. He spent two years studying retroviruses as a Damon Runyon Postdoctoral Fellow with Dr. Peter Vogt at the Keck School of Medicine at University of Southern California.

Dr. Lloyd J. Whitman is Head of the Surface Nanoscience and Sensor Tech¬nology Section at the Naval Research Laboratory. He leads a multidisciplinary team of some 20 biologists, chemists, engineers, and physicists working at the nexus of nanoscience, biotechnology, and microsystems. Their current research encompasses studies of individual semiconductor, organic, and biomolecular nanostructures, their use in novel functional surfaces, and their integration into biosensor systems and optoelectronic devices for national security and defense applications.

In addition to leading multiple research projects at the Naval Research Laboratory, Dr. Whitman helps manage nanotechnology and biodefense programs for a number of agencies within the Department of Defense. Dr. Whitman has assisted the National Science and Technology Council in formulating National Nanotechnology Initiative goals for National Defense and Security, and serves as a Science Advisor to the Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Chemical and Biological Defense and Chemical Demilitarization Programs.

Dr. Whitman earned a B.S. in Physics with honors, magna cum laude, from Brown University. He holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Physics from Cornell University. He completed a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Dr. Whitman has been studying surface nanoscience and sensor technology for over 25 years, with over 130 publications and patents, and numerous media citations and awards.