Sidney Pestka, M.D. - Founder and Chief Scientific Officer

Dr. Pestka is known as the "Father of Interferon" for his seminal work on interferon that gave birth to what is, today, a $6 billion dollar market directed at the therapy of hepatitis, multiple sclerosis, cancer, and other diseases that affect mankind. He was the first to purify interferon, the first to clone mature interferons and the first to develop a commercialized recombinant biotherapeutic "Roferon A" while at the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology of Hoffmann-La Roche, where he spent 17 years leading research efforts.

In addition to his position at PBL, Dr. Pestka serves as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Molecular Genetics, Microbiology and Immunology at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. He is presently the named inventor on 270 U.S. and foreign patents and has 450 original research articles in his name. Dr. Pestka is a 2001 National Medal of Technology laureate and has received the 2004 Warren Alpert Foundation Scientific Prize from Harvard Medical School; the 2006 Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award; the 2009 Molecular Biology Medal from the National Institutes of Health for his role in deciphering the genetic code and the mechanism of protein synthesis; and the 2010 Edward J. Ill Outstanding Medical Research Scientist Award for Basic Biomedical Research. He graduated summa cum laudein chemistry from Princeton University and received a doctorate in Medicine from the University of Pennsylvania.

William A. Clark, Ph.D. - Vice President of Science and Strategic Alliances

Dr. Clark directs and negotiates research, collaborative, alliance, service, and consulting arrangements with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, universities, and government laboratories. He also oversees out- and in-licensing of reagents and technologies to and from partner laboratories across the globe, and directs PBL?s intellectual property and business development efforts.

Dr. Clark joined PBL as Section Head of Protein Biochemistry where he led a team of scientists in the purification of recombinant novel and native interferons and monoclonal antibodies for preclinical development, research use, and commercial sale.

Subsequently as Director of Drug Discovery and Development he directed protein biochemistry, genetic engineering, and drug delivery teams to advance the preclinical development of novel interferon-based therapeutics and achieve Small Business Innovation Research grant goals.

Dr. Clark received his Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Boston College and enjoyed several years developing new consumer products at Lehn & Fink Products Co. He holds a Master of Science and Ph.D. in pharmacology from Yale University where he specialized in in vivo neuropharmacology supported, in part, through a predoctoral NRSA fellowship. Dr. Clark completed postdoctoral training in signal transduction/reconstitution of purified G proteins and GPCRs under two grant awards, a NIGMS PRAT award and an NIH IRTA award, both at the National Institutes of Health where he later accepted a Staff Scientist position.

Ronald G. Jubin, Ph.D. - Director of Research and Development

For 19 years Dr. Jubin has been studying interferons: conducting basic and applied research, testing bulk and finished product, and evaluating potential licensing candidates. He has published several papers in the field of hepatitis C virology, including one characterizing interferon kappa, which demonstrated a unique juxtacrine mechanism of inhibiting HCV replication. While at Schering-Plough he served as team leader responsible for conducting the studies necessary to gain regulatory approval of IntronA and Ribavirin co-therapy for hepatitis C virus in Japan. Dr. Jubin received a Bachelor of Arts in microbiology from Kean University, a Master of Science in microbiology from Seton Hall University, and a Ph.D. in microbiology and molecular genetics from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

Thomas B. Lavoie, Ph.D. - Director of Product Development

Dr. Lavoie leads a team that purifies interferon-related reagents, interferons and antibodies, and develops the activity assays for these products. He also manages the Assay Services group, which provides routine and custom activity and immunoassay services for clients. Dr. Lavoie?s team develops the research ideas that become the quality products available to you.

Prior to joining PBL, Dr. Lavoie was employed in the Department of Macromolecular Structure at Bristol-Myers Squibb, where he was responsible for expression, purification and biophysical characterization of proteins for X-ray crystallography and NMR analysis. At BMS he also developed assays for high-throughput screening and methods for structural analysis of glycoprotein. Dr. Lavoie received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Frostburg State College and a Ph.D. from University of Maryland, College Park for research into the structure and function of antibodies, conducted at NIH and a small biotechnology company.

Yognandan Pandya - Quality Manager

Mr. Pandya ensures the quality of the products and support you receive from PBL. Along with Hong-Gee Lee, he helps answer any questions you may have about the products or services. Mr. Pandya coordinates lot release testing, document control, CAPA management, vendor evaluation and real-time stability testing of our products. He also manages equipment certification, technical support, and product care.

Prior to joining PBL, Mr. Pandya worked on a US Department of Transportation-sponsored biodefense project on detection of Bacillus anthracis spores using piezoelectric biosensors from 2004 to 2006 at Drexel University and Drexel University College of Medicine. While at Drexel, he also worked on a Department of Defense contract studying the molecular and cellular mechanisms of action of anthrax toxins. Mr. Pandya received a bachelor of engineering in biomedical engineering from the University of Mumbai, India and a Master of Science in biomedical engineering from Drexel University. He is a senior member of the American Society for Quality (ASQ).

Doranelly Koltchev, Ph.D - Senior Scientist

As Senior Scientist in the R & D group, Dr. Koltchev leads the team in identifying cell death mechanisms triggered by different types of interferon, alone or in combination with specific signaling inhibitors. She has over 10 years? experience in the field of interferon and cytokine research including isolation, cloning, expression, characterization and comparison of biological activities of recombinant and genetically modified type I and II interferons from different species. Dr. Koltchev received a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Science in molecular biology from the University of Sofia, Bulgaria. After obtaining her Ph.D. from the Institute of Molecular Biology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in Sofia, she worked as Research Associate at Rutgers University?s Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, studying the structure-function relationship of yeast replication protein A genes and genetic regulation of retrotransposon-mediated DNA repair in yeast.

Hong-Gee Lee, Ph.D. - Product Manager and Technical Support Scientist

As Product Manager and Technical Support Specialist, Dr. Lee works with the Quality Manager to help answer any product or service-related question you may have. Additionally, he serves as technical marketing lead, develops market research, manages product life-cycle, coordinates tradeshows and sales support. Before joining PBL, he was an Application Scientist at Thermo Scientific, providing pre- and post-sale support for the company’s vacuum concentrator and electrophoresis product lines. He received a Bachelor of Science and Ph.D. in biochemistry from Polytechnic University in New York and completed his post-doctoral training in the molecular biology research program at Sloan-Kettering Institute, where he studied murine embryonic development.

Robert Pestka - President and CEO

Mr. Pestka has been integral to the development of PBL InterferonSource for 17 years. Under his guidance, PBL has become the largest manufacturer and supplier of interferon products for research use in the world and has been transformed into the company scientists turn to for their interferon-related needs: products, services, information and know-how.

In addition to growing the interferon reagent business, he conceived and implemented a strategy to develop interferon-based drugs to treat cancer and viral diseases. PBL?s therapeutics business has received $10 million in funding over the years and is currently supported solely by government grants and pharmaceutical company partnerships.

Prior to his current position, Mr. Pestka served as Vice President of Corporate Development, in which role he planned partnering and licensing strategy and negotiated technology licensing and research agreements with Hoffmann-La Roche, Serono, Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, BD Pharmingen, Novagen, and universities and research institutions all over the world. He also helped write and secure several National Cancer Institute grants. Mr. Pestka previously served in several project management and architectural design capacities at Kajima International, a Japanese turnkey construction company. He received a Bachelor of Science in architecture and civil engineering from Princeton University.

Timothy Doris, Ph.D. - Chief Operations Officer

Dr. Doris brings 25 years’ experience in management and strategy consulting to the company. He is responsible for all business and operational aspects of PBL. His work as an international consultant to small and large pharmaceutical, biotech and high-tech organizations has focused on business process improvement, supply chain management, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic planning.

Joan Pestka - Founder

Ms. Pestka established PBL InterferonSource with Sidney Pestka in 1990. She has handled a wider variety of responsibilities than anyone in company history: purchasing, accounting, and collections; payroll, insurance, benefits, and human resources; product preparation, shipping and receiving; sales, customer service, and technical support. Ms. Pestka retains various accounting department responsibilities and maintains her fierce support of company employees.

Prior to founding PBL, Ms. Pestka taught high-school mathematics for 8 years and served for 5 years in several instructor and research assistant positions in the psychology departments at the University of Pennsylvania, American University and George Washington University. She received a Master of Arts in counseling psychology from American University and a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics with minors in psychology and physics & chemistry from the University of Michigan. She is accredited in Document Examination by the American Association of Handwriting Analysts.

Gregory Davies - Corporate Controller

Mr. Davies is responsible for managing all PBL?s financial functions. He has more than 15 years of financial and accounting experience in a variety of industries with an emphasis on small, growth-stage companies. From 2004 to 2009 Mr. Davies served as Vice President of Finance and Corporate Treasurer at Healthcare Providers Direct, a company focused on the development and marketing of point-of-care diagnostic tests. In this role he provided the financial component in support of a successful initial public offering. From 2001 to 2004 he served as Director of Finance at Gynétics, where he coordinated successful debt and equity financing efforts. Mr. Davies received a Bachelor of Science in management from Montclair State University and an M.B.A. in finance from Monmouth University.

Tracy L. Midrano - Operations Director

Ms. Midrano has been an important part of PBL?s development since 1997. She has served in a wide variety of roles within the company, having held positions in research, product development, quality, manufacturing, sales & marketing, and technical support. Her background developing, producing, analyzing, selling, marketing, and supporting PBL products and services has given her great insight into how PBL functions. Ms. Midrano continues to take on greater responsibilities at PBL and is currently responsible for overseeing the company?s manufacturing activities and coordinating major projects across the entire organization. She received a Bachelor of Arts in biological sciences from Rutgers University as well as holds a Certificate in Project Management and PMP Certificate Preparation from Rutgers Business School.

Jaleel Shujath ? Chief Marketing Officer

Mr. Shujath?s marketing strategy has helped solidify PBL?s identity as the world?s leading interferon expert for life science research. Through innovative marketing tactics such as the Interferon Force comic series, he has been able communicate interferon?s role in human health to a wider audience. Before joining PBL Mr. Shujath was Global Marketing Manager at GE Healthcare, Field Application Scientist at Cellomics, Scientist at Bayer Healthcare, Research Associate at Yale University, and Research Technician at Tufts University School of Medicine. He received a Bachelor of Science in biology from Tufts University and an M.B.A. in marketing from the College of Business at the University of New Haven

Susan Reeves, SPHR - Director, Human Resources

Ms. Reeves is responsible for managing PBL?s human resources function, including recruitment, benefits and compensation, performance management, compliance and recordkeeping, charity collections and community outreach, and company event planning. She is also charged with succession planning, organizational development, and the creation of short- and long-term HR strategies that support PBL?s vision and organizational goals. She has particular expertise in individual and group training and development. Ms. Reeves has over 15 years of human resources experience in a variety of industries including healthcare, financial services, non-profit, and academia. She has a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics with a minor in philosophy from Drew University and holds the Senior Professional Human Resources certification.