Johan Pontin
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

“Harnessing the power of protein function and its impact on disease is what drives Emerald Bio to be the protein resource company. Our formula is crystal clear: we combine our expertise and experience in structural and molecular biology with IT resources, research tools, and instruments to make a tangible difference in the discovery of new therapies.”

• 20 years of international experience in corporate and business development in ICT and life sciences
• Founder and Managing Partner of Pod Venture Partners – 2000 - 2008
• Group Manager of Corporate Finance, Mergers and Acquisitions at ASSA ABLOY AB – 1998 - 2000
• Management Consultant in the Financial Advisory Services Group at Cooper & Lybrand LLC – 1993 - 1998
• BS from Carroll School of Management at Boston College - 1993

Alex Burgin, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer

“Emerald Bio excels in understanding protein structure and function. We have the insight and skill to engineer proteins for both functional and structural studies, and the proven experience to very quickly demonstrate which protein targets are amendable for drug discovery and which protein targets are not. Our scientists have remarkably deep institutional knowledge around many different protein targets and therapeutic areas.”

• Published over 60 peer reviewed papers and an inventor on eight issued patents
• Chief Operating Officer at deCODE biostructures – 2006
• Director of Molecular Biology at Emerald BioStructures – 2001
• Assistant Biology Professor at San Diego State University – 1998
• Enzymology Group Leader at Ribozyme Pharmaceuticals – 1995
• Post Doctoral Studies at NIH focusing on enzyme mechanism
• Ph.D. in Genetics, Indiana University – 1990

Diana R. Wetmore, Ph.D.
Vice President of Operations & Protein Services

"I believe that great science in support of client goals can move a whole field forward. Emerald Bio's customers see us as an extension of their own research team, and we are always looking to anticipate our customer's needs so that we are ready with quick and efficient solutions. Our 14 year protein services history and leading position in structural genomics and multi-target parallel processing makes us the top destination for leveraging information across key sets of proteins for many applications that impact human health and disease."

• VP Business Development & Alliances at Emerald BioStructures – 2010
• VP of Alliance Management for Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics – 2003-2010
• Chief Technical Officer at Geneprot, Inc. – 2001 - 2003
• Sr. Director of R&D Project Management at Anadys (formerly Scriptgen Pharmaceuticals) – 1996-2000
• X-ray Crystallography Group at DuPont Merck Pharmaceuticals – 1993-1996
• Ph.D. in Biochemistry, University of Calgary – 1993

Chris Tauer
Chief Financial Officer

“We are focused on two areas: structure based drug design and all things protein. The new Protein Resource Operating System exemplifies Emerald’s strategic expansion into the broader proteomic market and will fuel our growth and success.”

• CFO at Emerald BioStructures - 2009
• Vice President of Finance, US Operations at deCODE Genetics, Inc. – 2002
• Mergers & Acquisitions at MediChem Life Sciences, Inc. – 1999
• BA in Accounting, Eastern Illinois University – 1998

George Abe
President

“As disease diagnosis and drug discovery becomes more targeted, there is a need for an even deeper understanding of proteins, from structure to function. Our talented team has built a brand based on solving many difficult problems for our customers who need flexible partnerships to support their activities.  We combine our services, products, software, and consumables, along with our knowledge base, to provide target-centric solutions.”

• Over 25 years of executive leadership experience in technology and life science industries
• Sr. Vice President, Tissue Imaging at Caliper Life Sciences - 2010
• President and CEO at Cambridge Research and Instrumentation – 2003
• Greater Boston Executive Program, Sloan School of Management, MIT – 1996
• MS, University of Connecticut – 1985
• BS, Trinity College – 1983

Laura Sailor
VP Sales & Marketing

"What excites me about Emerald Bio? It's our ability to create the perfect recipe for our customers: institutional memory in structure-based drug design, laser focus on customer needs, and commitment to changing the way science is done today. We continually strive to set the bar higher by providing insight into new workflows and strategies that can increase the probability of success. We're not about scaling old processes – our mission is to provide new, innovative solutions."

• VP Global Business Development at Crown Bioscience – 2008
• CEO at Emergotech, LLC – 2005
• Business Development Manager/Sales Representative at Open Biosystems – 2003
• Business Development/Sales Representative at Invitrogen – 2001
• Research Associate at Pfizer DTC – 2000
• Senior Research Associate at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals – 1993
• Lab Manager, Brigham & Women’s Hospital – 1988
• MS in Applied Immunology, University of Southern Maine – 1989
• BA Biology and Chemistry, St. Joseph’s College – 1987

Peter Nollert, Ph.D.
Chief Technology Officer

“We clearly see a need for membrane protein structural biology at an industrial scale. At Emerald we develop innovative technologies for hard to tackle drug targets, ranging from gene design to crystallization. Results help create and prioritize particular target variants, provide tangible materials for biophysical characterization and form a key element to supporting our clients’ discovery efforts and intellectual property cases.”

• Project Leader II at Emerald BioStructures, Certified Project Management Professional - 2010
• Director of Emerald BioSystems - 2006
• Sr. Research Scientist at deCODE biostructures - 2002
• Postdoc at UCSF and Stanford University - 1999-2001
• Postdoc at Biocenter Basel - 1997-1998
• Dr. rer. nat. at Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Biochemistry  - 1993-1997