SLAS2020 Short Courses

Anthony Essex, Ph.D.
Phenovista

Anthony Essex, Ph.D., is the chief scientific officer of Phenovista Biosciences, a company he co-founded with James Evans, Ph.D., in 2014. He is a renowned cell biologist who has a background in using model organisms to understand fundamental aspects of biology.

Essex has a blend of commercial and academic experience accumulated over a 15year period. This includes scientist positions at biotechnology companies such as Acadia Pharmaceuticals and Vala Sciences. Recently, Essex was a key member of the scientific team developing phenotypic assays as part of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ToxCAST initiative. As CSO of Phenovista, he manages company scientific, research and technological operations and academic collaborations while overseeing all client projects.

Olivier Frey
InSphero AG

Olivier Frey, Ph.D., leads the Technology and Platforms group at InSphero AG, Switzerland. Before joining InSphero, he was group leader at the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering of ETH Zurich, Switzerland. In the Bio Engineering Laboratory of Prof. Andreas Hierlemann, he was responsible for the development of integrated microfluidic systems for single-cell handling and 3D tissue cultures. Included are in particular multi-tissue systems, or so-called “Body-on-a-Chip” configurations based on 3D microtissue spheroids for microtissue culturing, analysis and interaction. Frey received his Doctoral degree in Micro Engineering from EPF Lausanne, Switzerland, Laboratory of Prof. Nico de Rooij.

Alex Ng
Harvard Medical School / Harvard University

Alex Ng, Ph.D., is a post-doctoral researcher in the laboratory of George Church, Ph.D., at Harvard Medical School. His research focuses on technologies to genetically engineer human tissues and cells, and uses next generation sequencing for systems-level characterization. He and his team constructed the first comprehensive human transcription factor library for stem cell differentiation and tissue engineering.

Terry Riss
Promega Corporation

Terry Riss, Ph.D. started the Cell Biology program at Promega in 1990 and has held several R&D and Project Management positions since. Riss managed the development of cell viability, cytotoxicity, apoptosis and protease assay systems and also lead efforts to identify and promote multiplexing of cell-based assays to determine the mechanism of cell death. He now serves as Global Strategic Manager, Cell Health and is involved in outreach educational training activities. Riss has participated in several NIH study sections reviewing HTS grants and is co-editor of the In Vitro Cell Based Assays section of the Assay Guidance Manual hosted by NIH.