Edwin W. Naylor, Ph.D., M.P.H.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Laboratory Director
Overview
Dr. Naylor is an American Board of Medical Genetics certified Clinical Biochemical and Ph.D. Medical Geneticist. He received a Ph.D. in Genetics from Utah State University and an M.P.H. from the University of Pittsburgh. He was a post-doctoral fellow with Dr. Robert Guthrie at the State University of New York at Buffalo and was an associate of his from 1972 until 1984. Dr. Guthrie is considered the "father of newborn screening" and was the developer of the first widely used newborn screening test for phenylketonuria. He was also the first to use the filter paper blood specimen, now known as the "Guthrie Card", that has made mass newborn screening possible and cost effective. Dr. Naylor has over 28 years experience in inherited metabolic disorders and newborn screening and is a recognized world authority in the field. He is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh.
History
Dr. Naylor is a graduate of Middlebury College (A.B. Biology/Chemistry) with a Ph.D. (Genetics/Microbiology) from Utah State University and a M.P.H. (Population/Human Genetics) from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. He was a post-doctoral fellow with Dr. Robert Guthrie in the Department of Pediatrics at the State University of New York, Buffalo, and was a colleague of Dr. Guthries from 1972 until 1984. Dr. Naylor was involved in the first pilot newborn screening program for congenital hypothyroidism in New York in 1975. In 1980, he received a grant from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to carry out one of the first pilot newborn screening programs in the U.S. for cystic fibrosis, screening 20,000 newborns in Buffalo using an early RIA for immunoreactive trypsinogen. In 1985, he instituted screening for congenital adrenal hyperplasia in Pittsburgh using an RIA for 17- hydroxyprogesterone. During the 1970s, he was a colleague of Dr. Michael Garrick in Buffalo, the developer of the first electrophoretic screening test for sickle cell hemoglobinopathies in newborns. This method was introduced in Pittsburgh in 1985 as part of the first newborn screening program for sickle cell hemoglobinopathies in Pennsylvania.
In 1984, Dr. Naylor moved to Pittsburgh where he developed the concept of Supplemental Newborn Screening to augment the existing Pennsylvania mandated phenylketonuria and congenital hypothyroidism screening program. Screening started with the 10,000 annual births at Magee-Womens Hospital for galactosemia, biotinidase deficiency, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, and sickle cell hemoglobinopathies. In 1986, the number of disorders screened for was expanded to include tests for cystic fibrosis, maple syrup urine disease, homocystinuria, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency. In 1992, Dr. Naylor received a grant from the Muscular Dystrophy Association to establish a national Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophy pilot screening program. In 1992, fast atom bombardment tandem mass spectrometry screening for inborn errors of fatty acid, organic acid, and amino acid metabolism was introduced. The use of automated electrospray tandem mass spectrometry was introduced in 1994 and has replaced the manual fast atom bombardment technique. On October 1, 1994, the Supplemental Newborn Screening Program at Magee-Womens Hospital was spun off by Dr. Naylor into an independent laboratory (Neo Gen Screening). All screening business as well as equipment, supplies, and personnel were transferred from Magee-Womens Hospital to Neo Gen Screening at that time.
Dr. Naylor is widely recognized around the world as a leader in newborn screening and is a frequently sought after speaker at international symposia on newborn screening and inborn errors of metabolism. He has published over 100 articles, chapters, and abstracts. As President and Laboratory Director, he brings to the Company an unparalleled experience and reputation in the field of newborn screening and the diagnosis of inborn errors of metabolism.
Donald H. Chace, Ph.D., M.S.F.S.
Section Chief, BioAnalytical Chemistry and Mass Spectrometry Division
Director of Mass Spectrometry Research, Development and Quality Assurance Programs
Overview
Dr. Chace is a forensic toxicologist, analytical chemist and mass spectrometrist who has been the developer of the tandem mass spectrometry methods for newborn screening for amino acid and acylcarnitine disorders using filter paper blood specimens. He received a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and a Master of Science in Forensic Science from The George Washington University. He has worked extensively on automating, improving, and expanding this exciting new technology. He has 10 years experience developing these methods at Duke University Medical Center where he was an Assistant Research Professor in Pediatrics and at Neo Gen Screening where he joined the staff in May 1997.
History
Dr. Chace received his B.S. (Chemistry) from Boston College and has a M.S.F.S. in Forensic Toxicology from George Washington University. He received his Ph.D. (Pharmacology) from George Washington University where he developed a new mass spectrometric technique known as Chemical Reaction Interface Mass Spectrometry (selectively detects stable isotopes in complex biological matrices) and completed post-doctoral training in the Department of Biomedicinal Chemistry at the University of Maryland where he gained experience using Thermospray Mass Spectrometry. He is an experienced analytical chemist and mass spectrometrist who has been the primary developer of the tandem mass spectrometry methods that we use for newborn screening for amino acid and acylcarnitine disorders on filter paper blood specimens. He has worked extensively on automating, improving, and expanding this exciting new technology. He has over 7 years of experience developing these methods at the Mass Spectrometry Facility at Duke University Medical Center where he was Research Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and continued this work for the past 3 years at Neo Gen Screening. He has recently developed a Quality Assurance/Quality Control Program for tandem mass spectrometry screening for amino acids and acylcarnitines using blood spot standards in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control. He worked closely with Neo Gen Screening for several years, developing analytical methods and software for interpreting screening results. He is a member of the International Society for Neonatal Screening, American Association of Clinical Chemistry, and American Society for Mass Spectrometry and the American Chemical Society. He also assists with marketing and computer illustration, graphics, design, and publications. This Neo Gen Screening web site was developed by him with the assistance of several others at Neo Gen and our computer consultants at Infosolv Inc.
Steven Dobrowolski, Ph.D.
Section Chief, Molecular Research Division
Overview
Dr. Dobrowolski is a molecular geneticist and has been the driving force in the implementation of molecular newborn screening methods at Neo Gen Screening. He received his Ph.D. in a joint program between the Research Institute of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and the Cleveland State University. He was a postdoctoral fellow in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Baylor College of Medicine and later a junior faculty member in the Department of Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Dobrowolskis initial interests were in the field of cancer related oncogenes and tumor suppresser genes. Since arriving at Neo Gen Screening in October 1996, he has focused his professional development towards analysis of those genes critical to neonatal screening.
History
Dr. Dobrowolski received his BS (Pre-Professional Biology) from the University of Pittsburgh and then was accepted as a Graduate Student Fellow to the Department of Molecular Biology in the Research Institute of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation as part of a joint program with the Cleveland State University. He studied the activities of the ras oncogene and the adenovirus oncogene E1A, both of which are known to play an active role in cancer development. Dr. Dobrowolski then accepted a postdoctoral position at Baylor College of Medicine in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. While at Baylor College of Medicine, he focused his research efforts on the p21 CIP1 gene and its transcriptional regulator the tumor suppresser genes P53. After accepting a junior faculty position at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Dr. Dobrowolski investigated the role of the tumor suppresser gene p16INK4a in the development of non-small cell lung cancer and was awarded a grant from the American Cancer Society to carry out these investigations. He came to Neo Gen Screening in October 1996, to explore the feasibility of a molecular assay to determine genetic predisposition to insulin dependent diabetes mellitus and recently received an NIH SBIR grant to develop this assay. Dr. Dobrowolski has also focused upon the application of molecular genetic methods to detect metabolic diseases of interest to neonatal screening. He has established molecular genetic assays to confirm the sickle cell hemoglobinopathies, beta thalasemia, long chain 3-hydroxy acyl Co-A dehydrogenase deficiency, medium chain acyl-Co A dehydrogenase deficiency, classical galactosemia, and Duarte galactosemia. Currently, he is designing a molecular assay to detect toxoplasmosis. Recently, Dr. Dobrowolski was made the Director of Molecular Research. His future plans include the application of biochip technologies to newborn screening for inherited metabolic diseases.
Elizabeth Prence, Ph.D.
Section Chief, Biochemical Genetics Division
Overview
Dr. Prence is an American Board of Medical Genetics certified Clinical Biochemical Geneticist and an American Board of Clinical Chemistry certified Clinical Chemist. She is also certified by New York State as a Laboratory Director for genetic testing and is a laboratory inspector for the College of American Pathologists. She received a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 1986 and was a post-doctoral fellow at Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Prence has more than 20 years of experience in clinical laboratory medicine and is the author of numerous scientific articles on the development and evaluation of genetic tests. She is an adjunct assistant professor of human genetics at the University of Pittsburgh.
History
Dr. Prence has an Associate Degree in Medical Technology and was certified by the American Society of Clinical Pathologists in 1978. She is a graduate of Geneva College (B.S. Chemistry) and worked in hospital clinical laboratories prior to obtaining a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 1986. Her Ph.D. thesis work was on the biochemical basis of the different forms of the genetic disorder, Gaucher disease. She spent three years as a post-doctoral fellow at Tufts University School of Medicine, studying lysosomal enzyme transport with grant support from the American Cancer Society. In 1990 Dr. Prence became the Associate Director of the biochemical genetics laboratory at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center for Mental Retardation in Waltham, Massachusetts. While at the Shriver Center, Dr. Prence was involved in the development and improvement of many diagnostic tests for lysosomal and peroxisomal disorders and became active in the area of quality assurance for genetic testing. She also was an assistant professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital and was an adjunct lecturer of biochemistry for the genetic counseling program at Brandeis University. Dr. Prence joined Neo Gen Screening in 1999 as Director of Biochemical Genetics. Dr. Prence is a member of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry, the Society for the Study of Inborn Errors of Metabolism, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Human Genetics Network, and the New England Regional Genetics Group.
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