Request Expert

Subject matter expert on biotechnology and nucleic acids with over 20 years of experience. He is an experienced developer of tools for the detection and quantification of both DNA and RNA for diagnostics, and research and drug development. Expert currently serves as a technical and business expert consultant for several biotech startup companies.

In his most recent role, he worked as a Strategic Scientific Advisor for a biotech company specializing in nucleic acid production, PCR systems, and other molecular biology kits and services. Here, he led several groups as a Senior Scientist reporting directly to the CEO, to release products for improved gene expression analysis, Q-PCR, SNP-detection, RNA-Seq, single molecule RNA in situ fluorescence hybridization (smRNA FISH). Expert and his colleagues pursued numerous applications of smRNA FISH including for cancer diagnostics, high throughput screening of estrogenic compounds, ASO-modulation of splicing, and lupus erythematosus. This work set the fundamental standard for the spatial transcriptomics field. As an NIH-funded Principal Investigator he has continually published and served as a reviewer of grant applications (NIH, etc.), and scientific journal manuscripts. Expert also spent a large amount of time to evaluate new technology and chemistry around chemical DNA synthesis and oligonucleotides modified with linkers, fluorophores, quenchers and haptens while at Biosearch Technologies. This duty continued and expanded after the acquisition by the UK-based LGC as the small California company transitioned to efficient manufacturing of diagnostics components, including reagents for the COVID PCR tests. Here, he developed strategies to expand the product portfolio and enhance manufacturing practices for custom oligonucleotides. He reviewed scientific publications and intellectual property related to company’s product portfolio, and manufacturing methods. He spearheaded in-licensing and creation of new SOPs for in house synthesis of chemical precursors, and custom oligonucleotides to advance numerous useful product line enhancements.

In his earlier roles, Expert led a research group at Uppsala University and subsequently at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute, California. It was focused on understanding the function of an evolutionarily conserved protein synthesis factor, and on how iron regulates protein synthesis off of specific mRNAs. Here, his highlights were the discovery of the oncogene EIF5A2 and the characterization of the post-translational modification in the cognate bacterial factor, EF-P. The modification, uniquely different for the archaeal and eukaryotic hypusine, was similarly found to be essential for cell division.

Expert has collaborated with scientists around the world and has co-published 33 peer-reviewed works, articles, reviews, and methods chapters, and he holds two patents. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, with a concentration in Microbiology and minor in Business Administration, from Stockholm University. His PhD work in gene expression and mRNA synthesis was completed at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg Germany, while registered at Stockholm University. He completed his post-doctoral work on the MS2 coat protein and its cognate RNA binding site in a laboratory at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Expert was awarded his DSc (Docent) in Molecular Biology from Uppsala University. He has certified intellectual property training from WIPO.