Advertisement
"Dr. Lai-Goldman's deep experience in transitioning research-basedtechnologies into clinical medicine will prove invaluable to the GenVault teamas we explore new technologies and products that enable the standardization ofbiosample handling not only for the research community, but also for themillions of samples collected in the clinical setting," said David Wellis, CEOof GenVault. "Dr. Ballantyne's unique experience in the development ofgenetic tools for forensic scientists will provide an additional key resourcefor GenVault as we begin to apply and extend our current tools into theforensics market in the future. Together with our current SAB members,GenVault has assembled an exceptional group with broad and diverse interestand expertise in improving the management of biological samples."
Advertisement
"Accurate diagnosis of a patient is absolutely related to the quality ofthe sample to be tested. Providing tools that enable consistent samplequality regardless of the collection or handling conditions can improvediagnostic success. I'm pleased to be a part of the scientific advisory boardfor this technology," said Dr. Lai-Goldman.
"Sample preservation is the lifeblood of forensic scientists. Justicecan't be carried out unless we can be absolutely sure that our stored samplesare giving us accurate results, are traceable and work every time. GenVault'sproduct pipeline is intended to give forensic science that peace of mind,"said Dr. Ballantyne.
Myla Lai-Goldman has been Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officersince April 2008. Previously, she had served as Chief Scientific Officer andMedical Director since April 1998. During this period Dr. Lai-Goldman managedthe Center for Molecular Biology and Pathology at LabCorp's Research TrianglePark, NC facility, National Genetics Institute, Inc. in Los Angeles, andViro-Med Laboratories, Inc. in Minneapolis, MN. She is Board Certified inAnatomic and Clinical Pathology and serves as a member of the ExecutiveCommittee of LabCorp. Dr. Lai-Goldman, who holds a medical degree fromColumbia University, was named Senior Vice President of LabCorp in 1997 andheld the position of Medical Director for the Center for Molecular Biology andPathology since 1991 (with Roche Biomedical Laboratories (RBL) andsubsequently LabCorp).
Prior to entering academia Dr. Ballantyne was an operational forensicbiochemist for eighteen years and worked as such in the United Kingdom, HongKong and the US. His most recent operational appointment was as the Supervisorof the Biological Sciences Section of the Suffolk County Crime Lab in LongIsland, New York where he was responsible for the management and operation ofthree units, a conventional Serology Unit, a DNA-PCR Unit and a DNA-RFLP Unit.He has been actively involved in the issues of laboratory standards andaccreditation at the national and state levels, serving on the federal DNAAdvisory Board and National DNA Review Panel and the New York State DNASub-committee. He possesses a B.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University ofGlasgow, Scotland, an M.Sc. in Forensic Science from the University ofStrathclyde, Scotland and a Ph.D. in Genetics from the State University of NewYork at Stony Brook. His current research interests include DNA damageassessment and in vitro repair systems, the biochemistry of the dried state,RNA appli
