Management TeamAlbert P. Li, Ph. D., Chairman of the Board, CSODr. Li obtained his Ph. D. degree in 1976 from the University of Tennessee, Oak Ridge Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, under Dr. Abraham W. Hsie, the originator of the CHO/HGPRT gene mutation assays. Dr. Li is currently President and CEO of Advanced Pharmaceutical Sciences, Inc., a company formed based on Dr. Li's novel cell culture technology, the Integrated Discrete Multiple Organ Culture (IdMOC) system which models a whole organism in vivo. Dr. Li is also President and CEO of In Vitro ADMET Laboratories (IVAL), a company devoted to the provision of in vitro contract research services. Dr. Li was previously President and CEO of Phase 1 Molecular Toxicology, Inc., Santa Fe, New Mexico, a toxicogenomics company (2002-2003); Chief Scientific Officer of In Vitro Technologies, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland (1995-2002); Professor and Director of Surgical Research Institute, St. Louis University Medical School Department of Surgery (1993-1995); Senior Fellow, Monsanto Company (1981-1993); Group Leader, Cellular and Genetic Toxicology, Lovelace Inhalation Research Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico (1979-1981); and Research Scientist and Research Assistant Professor, Cancer Research and Treatment Center, University of New Mexico (1976-1979). Dr. Li is an expert in the application of in vitro experimental systems in the evaluation of xenobiotics. He is one of the pioneers in the development of the CHO/HGPRT gene mutation assay that is now a routine genotoxicity assay. He is also a pioneer in the isolation, culturing, and cryopreservation of human hepatocytes. He co-developed assays for the application of human hepatocytes in the evaluation of drug properties including metabolic stability, metabolite identification, drug-drug interactions, and toxicity. Recently, Dr. Li invented the IdMOC experimental system as an in vitro model of a human in vivo for biomedical applications. Dr. Li is an editor of the journal Chemico-Biological Interactions and has over 130 publications. Dr. Li is also editor of five books in the disciplines of toxicology and drug metabolism. Arulasanam K. Thilagar, Ph.D., President, CEODr. Thilagar obtained his Ph.D. degree in cell biology from The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC. He worked as a Study Director and Department Head at EG&G Mason Research Institute and Microbiological Associates prior to cofounding SITEK Research Laboratories in 1984. Dr. Thilagar is currently serving as Chairman of the Board and as Director of Research. He is also a cofounder, President and CEO of the ADMET GROUP, LLC, a company devoted to providing comprehensive preclinical drug discovery, preclinical drug development and safety testing of chemicals. Dr. Thilagar has more than 20 years of experience in the area of Drug Discovery, Genetic Toxicity Testing, Biocompatibility and other preclinical testing of drug substances and medical devices. Dr. Thilagar served as principal investigator, project manager and project director for a number of research and testing contracts for NCI, NIEHS, NASA, Breast Cancer Task Force, and industry. Dr. Thilagar studied a variety of drugs including anti-estrogens in human breast cancer cells and drug resistant human lung, ovary, breast and colon cell lines under NCI and Breast Cancer Task Force contracts. Dr. Thilagar serves as a consultant for the pharmaceutical industry and interacts with regulatory agencies on behalf of drug companies in designing preclinical drug discovery and drug development strategies. Dr. Thilagar is very familiar with GLPs and worldwide regulatory guidelines for genetic toxicity testing, biocompatibility testing, short-term animal studies, and participated in collaborative projects with Japanese Regulatory Agencies. Δ BACK TO TOP | < PEOPLE INDEXDavid Kwok, Ph.D.,VP, Drug DevelopmentDr. Kwok graduated from the Undergraduate Pharmacy Program at the University of British Columbia, Canada, in 1984, followed by his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in applied medicinal chemistry in 1991. He has served in a variety of management and scientific positions at Health Canada from 1991 to 1998, responsible for botanical safety and quality control, antimicrobial drug resistance, and veterinary drug safety laboratory programs. He has been an invited speaker at numerous professional conferences and has contributed to over 30 scientific publications in bioanalytical chemistry applications and drug candidate optimization studies in peer-reviewed journals, poster presentations, and scientific review journals. David Kwok is a founder and Vice-President of Drug Development at SB ChemTox LLC, Rockville, MD, an analytical chemistry and bioanalytical CRO established with a mission to offer specialized integrative preclinical drug product development services from early discovery studies to preparation of IND package. Dr. Kwok is also the founder of BRI Biopharmaceutical Research Inc., an affiliated CRO based in Vancouver, BC, Canada, focused on analytical and bioanalytical mass spectrometry assays in support of preclinical drug development studies. Paul E. Kirby, Ph.D., CFODr. Kirby obtained his M.S. and Ph.D. degree from the Catholic University of America. He is the Chief Financial Officer of the ADMET GROUP. Dr. Kirby, a cofounder of SITEK Research Laboratories in 1984, is the President and Director of Operations. In this capacity, he is responsible for business operations, computer systems and software, and the Quality Assurance Unit. Dr. Kirby has worked for more than twenty-eight years in the field of genetic toxicology, and served as Principal Investigator on NCI contracts for performing L5178Y TK+/- Mouse Lymphoma Mutation Assays. He has been study director for Ames Tests and Mouse Lymphoma Assays, testing hundreds of chemicals for commercial clients for regulatory submissions. Dr. Kirby has been a member of the Environmental Mutagen Society and the Genetic Toxicology Association since 1980, of which he served three terms on the board of directors, the last term as Chairman. Clara Faan, B.Sc., VP of OperationsMs. Faan is a graduate from the University of Alberta, Canada. She has over 12 years experience in the operation of chemistry laboratory services with an appointment as an official analyst for the milk industry in British Columbia, Canada. Ms. Faan was a certified Food Safe Instructor and an ISO 9000 auditor prior to her management position in the pharmaceutical contract research industry. Ms. Faan is currently appointed the Vice-President of Operation at SB Chemtox LLC, and concurrently since 1999, holding the position of Vice-President of Business Development and Laboratory Operations at BRI Biopharmaceutical Research Inc. In her current capacities, and as a savvy business development person, Ms. Faan has been involved with the negotiations of numerous technology due diligence, transfer, and licensing agreements dealing with the development of new drug candidates. Δ BACK TO TOP | < PEOPLE INDEXScientific TeamThe ADMET Group's professional staff has extensive experience in diverse scientific disciplines, such as drug discovery, in vivo and in vitro toxicology, genetic toxicology, analytical chemistry, metabolism, pharmacokinetics and drug absorption. They are also knowledgeable in regulatory guidelines and are involved in efforts for worldwide regulatory submissions. Shambhu K. Roy, Ph.D.Dr. Roy works as Study Director in Mammalian Mutagenesis and Carcinogenesis section of SITEK Research Laboratories. Dr. Roy previously worked for 10 years in the field of mutagenesis and cancer research at The Gujarat Cancer & Research Institute (Cell Biology Division) Ahmedabad, India. He did three years postdoctoral research at University of California, Riverside, with Professor David A. Eastmond before joining SITEK. He has been principal investigator and co-principal investigator in five research projects. His expertise includes FISH techniques, sister chromatid exchanges, chromosomal aberrations, mutagen sensitivity, in vitro micronucleus test (CB MN assay), in vivo rodent micronucleus test, COMET assay, in vivo-in vitro UDS assay, mouse lymphoma assay, HGPRT mutation, TK mutation, and Ames test. He has authored and co-authored more than 20 original research articles in various prestigious international journals. Scientific Advisory CommitteeSid Aaron, Ph.D., DABT.
Angeline A. Lazarus, M.D.
David Eastmond, Ph.D.
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