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Many types of expertise, levels of education, and areas of science are represented
at Cerilliant. There are a number of advanced-degreed scientists on the Cerilliant
staff with diverse scientific training and experience. The depth of our scientific
expertise along with the broad spectrum of projects we manage, equips us to solve
most any problem and handle virtually any project.
The company’s high levels of knowledge and proficiency enables Cerilliant to control
quality from start to finish—from development, to production, to quality control,
to customer support. The company’s Certificate of Analysis is one of the most comprehensive
in the industry. But it is more than just process or products that has cemented
Cerilliant’s reputation for excellence. The company’s team of scientists is known
for its innovative thinking and collaborative relationship with customers, as well
as with each other.
Cerilliant scientists readily collaborate and problem solve on a variety of projects.
Cerilliant’s Senior Technical Team, led by Dr. Uma Sreenivasan, Chief Science Advisor,
is a cross-functional group that shares ideas between disciplines. Collectively,
this remarkable group of specialists is charged with the development, design, improvement,
and implementation of Cerilliant programs and are also responsible for the review
of new product designs and for resolving challenging technical issues.
Meet some of our technical team below.
Uma Sreenivasan, Ph.D. - Chief Science Advisor / Manager, Synthesis Operations
Senior
Technical Team
Ms. Sreenivasan has over 16 years of experience in the fields of computer modeling
of proteins, structural analysis of small molecules by NMR, peptide chemistry, and
drug design and synthesis. She has worked in biomedical research and academic settings
and has synthetic and analytical chemistry experience, project design and management,
and process development experience. Uma came to Cerilliant after post-doctoral work
in bio-organic, peptide and medicinal chemistry at the Mayo Clinic and the University
of Texas, Austin. Uma began her career at Cerilliant in 2000 as a synthesis chemist.
She was promoted to Manager of Synthesis Operations in 2003. She served as interim
Manager of the Quality Control Operation for a period of eight months in 2005/2006.
She was named Chief Science Advisor in April 2006 and heads Cerilliant's Senior
Technical Team. Uma has a PhD in medicinal chemistry from the University of Minnesota
and an undergraduate degree in pharmacy from S.N.D.T. University, Mumbai, India.
H. Kenan Yaser, MS - Synthesis Operations
Senior Technical Team
Mr. Yaser has over 17 years of experience in the field of organic synthesis. He
has worked in academic research settings and has project design and management,
and process development experience. Kenan came to Cerilliant in 1990 as a Synthesis
Chemist after graduate work in asymmetric synthesis. He was promoted to Product
Manager for forensic standards in 1994, Synthesis Operations Manager in 1998 and
to Technical Director in 2001. Upon recognizing that his true passion was working
in the lab, in 2003 Mr. Yaser persuaded management to allow him to return to the
synthesis lab as a Senior Chemist. He has since served as Interim Manager of Synthesis
Operations for an 8 month stint during 2005/2006. Throughout his tenure at Cerilliant,
Kenan has participated in the synthesis of a broad array of Cerilliant products,
both catalog and custom, and has made many significant contributions in the areas
of product and process development and in the implementation of new technologies.
Kenan has a Master’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin and an undergraduate
degree in chemistry from Rice University, Houston, Texas where he also engaged in
post graduate work related to drug development.
Martha Liu, Ph.D. – Synthesis Operations
Senior Technical Team
Dr. Liu is a veteran Synthesis Chemist with a strong background in organic and polymer
synthesis and analytical techniques for the characterization of small molecules
and macromolecules. Dr. Liu began her career overseeing an academic chemistry research
group and teaching Organic Chemistry and Synthetic Design to chemistry major undergraduates
for seven years. After she immigrated to the United States in the early 90’s to
pursue a Ph.D., Martha continued her career as a Research Assistant at the University
of Texas, Arlington. Prior to completing her Ph.D., she interned with Merck & Company
where she focused on process development and support for the manufacture of pharmaceutical
actives and intermediates in the Technical Operations Department. Dr. Liu joined
Cerilliant in 2000 after postdoctoral work at Texas A&M University, College Station,
Texas. Dr. Liu has successfully developed and synthesized many difficult compounds
for Cerilliant’s pharmaceutical customers and catalog products and has made many
significant contributions in the areas of new product and process development and
participates in the technical review of new projects. Dr. Liu has published eight
papers and made several presentations to national conferences and professional groups.
Dr. Liu holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and a Masters Degree in
Synthetic Organic Chemistry from universities in China and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry
from the University of Texas, Arlington, Texas.
Greg Kirkovits, Ph.D. – Synthesis Operations
Senior Technical Team
Dr. Kirkovits joined Cerilliant in May 2002 as a Synthesis Chemist after post-doctoral
work in supramolecular chemistry in the research laboratories of Professor Jonathan
L. Sessler at the University of Texas at Austin. Greg obtained his undergraduate
degree and Ph.D. at King’s College London, England. His doctoral research in the
area of supramolecular chemistry focused on the synthesis, characterization and
study of artificial ion channels. As part of his undergraduate degree he also spent
a year working as an NMR spectroscopist in the analytical laboratories of SmithKline
Beecham Pharmaceuticals in Welwyn Garden City, England. Greg’s primary responsibilities
include the production of native and 13C labeled chlorinated and brominated dioxins
and furans, and 13C labeled PAHs, in addition to custom synthesis, catalog support,
and product design.
Isil Dilek, Ph.D. – Manager, Quality Control Operations
Senior Technical Team
Dr. Dilek, a native of Turkey, received her MS and Ph.D. degrees at Carnegie Mellon
University, studying molecular recognition in nucleic acid and supramolecular chemistries.
For her graduate work, she developed methods to purify and characterize synthetic
nucleic acid analogs using chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. Isil then
joined the Medicinal Chemistry Division of the University of Texas at Austin as
a postdoctoral research fellow to work on the synthesis of drug candidates as inhibitors
of ricin and shiga toxins. Dr. Dilek joined Cerilliant in 2004 as an analytical
chemist. She has worked with HPLC, LCMS, FT-IR and NMR techniques. In 2008, Ms.
Dilek was promoted to Manager of the Quality Control Laboratory. Prior to that,
Dr. Dilek’s primary focus at Cerilliant was analytical method development utilizing
HPLC, UV spectroscopy and LC-MS and review of test specifications, methods, custom
projects, stability testing, and development of new technologies.
Ning Chang, Ph.D. – Assistant Manager - Quality Control Operations
Senior Technical
Team
Ning Chang joined Cerilliant in 2001. Dr. Chang is the Assistant Manager in the
analytical laboratory with expertise in GC, GC/MS, HPLC, LC/MS and Karl-Fischer
applications. Her experience includes method development, validation of analytical
methods and project management. She has extensive and practical knowledge in GC
and GC/MS instrumentation and application of these techniques to environmental and
forensic standards, chemical weapons, and pharmaceutical reference standards. Dr.
Chang has over 10 years of experience in X-ray crystallography for the structural
determination of proteins and small molecules, powder diffraction applications,
and crystal engineering. She has numerous publications resulting from her research
at the University of Texas at Austin. She received her Ph.D. in analytical chemistry
from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.S. in chemistry from the National
Taiwan University, in Taipei, Taiwan.
Derrell Johnson, MS – New Product Development Manager/Technical Liaison
Senior Technical
Team
Mr. Johnson joined Cerilliant in December, 1999, as a Synthesis Chemist after graduate
work in organic synthesis and asymmetric amplification. As a Synthesis Chemist,
Derrell’s primary responsibilities involved the production of numerous catalog and
custom products including projects under strict cGMP protocols. His experience also
includes process R&D and development in both small-scale and large-scale applications.
In 2005, Derrell accepted an opportunity to work as an analytical chemist in the
Quality Control Laboratory. His responsibilities included finished product and stability
testing, data review, and writing and validation of analytical methods. Derrell
served as the primary NMR spectroscopist and also worked with FT-IR, HPLC, and Auto-Titrator
techniques. In 2008 Derrell was promoted to his current position. In his current
role, Derrell is the primary technical contact with Cerilliant customers and is
responsible for selecting and initiating new products into Cerilliant’s catalog
offering. Derrell received his MBA in business administration from Texas State University,
San Marcos, Texas, Master’s degree in organic chemistry from Texas A&M
University, College Station, Texas, and his undergraduate degree in chemistry from
Texas Lutheran University, Seguin, Texas.
Art Zisman – Standards Manufacturing Operations
Senior Technical Team
Mr. Zisman began his career with Radian International in 1988 in the Pharmaceutical
Sciences Division as Senior Research Assistant conducting bioavailability studies
and analysis of biological samples. He later transferred to the Specialty Chemicals
division where he was charged with preparing samples for the analysis of wastewater,
soil, marine life, and ocean water. He joined Radian’s Analytical Reference Materials
division in 1994 and has since served in a variety of production roles with increasing
responsibility. Throughout his tenure at Cerilliant Mr. Zisman has played a key
role in the design, development and production virtually all of Cerilliant’s catalog
products. Art’s extensive knowledge and understanding of Cerilliant’s products and
techniques as well as his consistent commitment to excellence are critical to ensuring
the technical integrity of our products.
Peech S. Reddy, Ph.D. - Synthesis Operations
Dr. Reddy joined Cerilliant in 2002 as a Synthesis Chemist. Dr. Reddy has successfully
designed and synthesized several challenging compounds for Cerilliant's customers
and catalog products and has made many significant contributions in the areas of
new product and process development. Dr. Reddy has over 20 years of experience in
the field of synthetic organic chemistry and medicinal chemistry in academic and
industrial settings. Dr. Reddy has two U.S. Patents and published fifteen papers
and made several presentations to national conferences. Peech obtained his Ph.D.
in Organic Chemistry from National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India, where he worked
on new methods development and synthesis of biologically active compounds. Dr. Reddy
trained in the field of synthetic organic chemistry and medicinal chemistry as Postdoctoral
Fellow at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Texas, and
at State University of New York at Buffalo, New York.
Alex Wong, Ph.D. - Synthesis Operations
Dr. Wong joined Cerilliant in 2003 as a Synthesis Chemist after postdoctoral research
in mechanistic enzymology at the University of Texas at Austin. Alex obtained his
B.Sc. in biochemistry at the University of Waterloo, Canada, during which time he
worked as both biologist and chemist at several different companies. He went on
to obtain his Ph.D. in organic chemistry at the University of British Columbia,
Canada, where he studied the mechanism of carbohydrate processing enzymes through
the synthesis and use of carbohydrate analogs. During his tenure at Cerilliant,
Alex has participated in the synthesis of numerous Cerilliant products, including
the development of several new products, and custom projects for Cerilliant clients.
He plays a key role in quoting of custom projects, product design, development of
new technologies and the training of junior chemists.
Elizabeth B. Marek, Ph.D. - Synthesis Operations
Dr. Marek Joined Cerilliant as a Synthesis Chemist in 2007. Beth obtained her PhD
in organic chemistry from Georgia Institute of Technology. Her doctoral research
in the area of molecular recognition involved the synthesis and study of host/guest
complexes for drug delivery and catalysis. She went on to a postdoctoral fellowship
with Prof. Paul Wender at Stanford University were she was involved in the total
synthesis of natural products. Prior to joining Cerilliant, she worked as a medicinal
chemist at Genelabs Technologies where she designed and synthesized small molecules
for the treatment of HCV. Beth has participated in the synthesis of numerous Cerilliant
products, both catalog and custom.
Yunming Ying, Ph.D. - Synthesis Operations
Dr. Ying joined Cerilliant in 2008 as a Synthesis Chemist. Prior to joining Cerilliant,
he worked at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, as a Research Scientist focusing
on design and synthesis of new kinase inhibitors and PET imaging reagents. Dr. Ying
has extensive experience in the field of synthetic organic chemistry and medicinal
chemistry, from complex multi-step stereoselective synthesis to preparation of small
pharmaceutical molecules. He has over 20 publications including 4 U.S. Patents.
Dr. Ying received his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Chinese Academy of Sciences,
and his B.S. from University of Science and Technology of China. He did his postdoctoral
research at Rice University, Houston, TX.
Huahua Jian, Ph.D. – Quality Control
Dr. Jian obtained her Ph.D. from Rice University, Houston, Texas, M.S. from Institute
of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, and B.S. in Chemistry
from Nankai University, Tianjin, China. Dr. Jian has numerous publications and patents
resulting from her past research in multi-step organic synthesis and combinatorial
chemistry. Since joining Cerilliant in 2004 as a Synthesis Chemist, she has participated
in many custom synthesis projects and process development for large scale cGMP production.
Dr. Jian became a member of Cerilliant's Quality Control team in 2008 and serves
as Cerilliant’s primary NMR spectroscopist. Her current responsibilities also include
analytical method development, project review, analytical method validation, custom
analysis proposals, new project implementation, and product design.
Lara Sparks - Director, Quality Assurance
Ms. Sparks is responsible for managing, directing, and improving Cerilliant's quality
management system and ensuring compliance with applicable cGMP, FDA and ISO standards.
Ms. Sparks has eight years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and has
worked in a variety of quality positions. Ms. Sparks' career in the pharmaceutical
industry began at ALK-Abello, Inc, a leading producer of pharmaceuticals for specific
allergy vaccination, where she served Quality Control Chemistry Technician then
Quality Control Chemistry Supervisor. In her roles at ALK-Abello she was responsible
for coordinating all final product release testing and stability testing in accordance
with cGMP, FDA and USDA requirements. Ms. Sparks joined Cerilliant in 2002. She
received a BS in Chemistry from the University of Arizona.
Tamara N. Tarbox, M.S.T. – Quality Control
Ms. Tarbox joined Cerilliant in 2007 as an Analytical Chemist in Quality Control
Operations. Her current responsibilities include Research & Development for Cerilliant’s
catalog and custom projects, development of analytical methods and standard operating
procedures, and the performance of method transfers, verifications & validations.
Prior to joining Cerilliant, Ms. Tarbox held the positions of analytical research
and development chemist and section leader for a contract pharmaceutical manufacturing
firm, and quality control analytical chemist for a medical device company. Tarbox
holds a B.S. in Chemistry and microbiology and Masters in Science and Technology
from Texas State University.
Joshua D. Cooper, Ph.D – Quality Control
Dr. Cooper has a Ph.D. and an M.S. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University
of Kansas and a B.S. in Biochemistry form Grove City College in Pennsylvania. Prior
to joining Cerilliant in 2010, Dr. Cooper served as director of South Texas Accelerated
Research Therapeutics (START) in San Antonio where he was involved in the development
of analytical methods and pharmacokinetic studies for new oncology drug candidates.
His previous experience includes positions as director of Bioanalytical Laboratory
for CTRC Institute for Drug Development (now part of University of Texas Health
Science Center at San Antonio.) and adjunct assistant professor at the College of
Pharmacy, at The University of Texas at Austin. Cooper has numerous papers, presentations,
and published abstracts to his credit.
MANAGEMENT TEAM
Sherri Pogue - President & Chief Executive Officer
Ms. Pogue joined Cerilliant in September 2005 after briefly serving as Interim CEO
beginning in July, 2005. Ms. Pogue is also a member of the Board of Directors, a
position she has held since August 2000. Ms. Pogue brings 20 years of general business
and financial management experience to Cerilliant to complement Cerilliant's experienced
technical team. Prior to becoming CEO of Cerilliant, Ms. Pogue was a long-time Partner
of Lynch Investment Company, a private equity firm located in Dallas, TX. Lynch
sponsored the acquisition of Cerilliant from Radian in August 2000. In her capacity
as Partner with Lynch, Ms. Pogue was involved in all facets of Lynch's M&A activities
and served as the Lynch Managing Partner representing investors and/or a board member
in several portfolio investments in diverse industries such as metals manufacturing,
food distribution, trucking, and intellectual property development. Prior to becoming
Partner at Lynch, Ms. Pogue served in a variety of financial management roles including
CFO for Lynch and functional CFO for several portfolio companies.
Mitzi M. Rettinger - Vice President, Sales and Marketing
Prior to her position as Vice President of Cerilliant, Ms. Rettinger was the Director
of Sales and Marketing for the Radian Analytical Products Division where she was
responsible for sales, marketing, and technical customer service. She began her
career at Radian in 1989 and served as Associate Scientist, Scientist, Staff Scientist,
Senior Scientist and Marketing Director. She has been published in many industry
publications and is a member of the Society of Forensic Toxicologists and TIAFT.
Ms. Rettinger received B.S. degrees in Chemistry and Biology from Houston Baptist
University in Houston, Texas in 1989.
Richard L. Trammell - Vice President, Regulatory Affairs
Prior to becoming a Vice President of Cerilliant, Mr. Trammell served as the Systems
Manager for the Radian Analytical Products Division. His responsibilities included
regulatory affairs, accounting, and quality assurance. Mr. Trammell began his career
as a Research Assistant at Radian in 1977, and has since served as Scientist, Staff
Scientist, Senior Scientist, and Senior Staff Scientist. He is the author of eight
different publications relating to reference materials. Mr. Trammell holds a B.B.A.
in Accounting from The University of Texas at Austin and a B.S. in Chemistry from
Pan American University in Edinburg, Texas.
Laura P. Parsons – Controller
Laura Parsons joined Cerilliant in April, 2010 bringing extensive background in
all aspects of financial accounting and management including inventory costing and
management, cost accounting, systems implementation, operational and financial reporting,
and financial modeling & budgeting. Prior to joining Cerilliant, Ms. Parsons served
as CFO/Controller of Supercircuits, Inc. of Austin and before that held the position
of Operations Controller with Chatsworth Products, Inc. of Georgetown, Texas. Prior
to Chatsworth Ms. Parsons worked for Sally Beauty Company and Horizon Health Corporation.
Laura is a CPA and graduated magna cum laude receiving her BBA in Accounting at
Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas.
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