Management

The founders of CompleGen are experienced scientists with backgrounds in basic genetics and molecular biology and genetics in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. In particular, the CEO has experience in building a biotechnology company from the startup phase. We have recruited a group of very committed scientists who provide the skills and expertise in genetics and molecular and cellular biology to develop the XenoGene™ system and adapt it to compound discovery.

Joel Hedgpeth, Ph.D. CEO and Co-founder Dr Hedgpeth founded Codon, a biotechnology company that was acquired by Schering, AG in 1990. He served as Vice President of Basic Research at Berlex Biosciences (a US subsidiary of Schering, AG) until 1993. Dr. Hedgpeth was acting Chief Scientific Officer of Epoch Biosciences (NASDQ; EBIO) until Jan 2002. Dr. Hedgpeth received his degree with Herbert W. Boyer (founder of Genentech) at the University of California, San Francisco and after postdoctoral work at the University of Geneva, was a visiting professor at the Pasteur Institute (Paris) and a Research Fellow at the Howard Hughes Institute, UCSF.

John Swindle, Ph.D. President, Chief Scientific Officer, and Co-founder Dr. Swindle was Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Tennessee, from 1986 to 1996, and then he became a member of the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute and the Department of Pathobiology at the University of Washington. In 1999, Dr. Swindle became a member of the Infectious Disease Research Institute (Seattle, WA). Dr. Swindle's expertise in the manipulation of genes in parasites is widely recognized and qualifies him as the scientific leader to develop CompleGen's technology.

Pauline Gee, Ph.D. Vice President, Business Development Pauline was awarded the 2005 PolyPops Foundation Award for innovative applications in the area of microplate development and design by the Society of Biomolecular Sciences. Previously, Pauline was Chief Technology Officer at Sciona, Inc., where she led the Company to regulatory compliance in genetic testing. At CeMines, Inc., Pauline was responsible for commercializing protein biomarkers for early detection of cancer as Vice-President and General Manager. At MDS Pharma Services, Pauline led the Company's chemogenomics and toxicogenomics efforts, representing MDS Pharma Services as Vice-President of Predictive Biology in its alliance with Iconix Pharmaceuticals. Before joining MDS Pharma Services, Pauline was President and CEO of Xenometrix, Inc., a public company that pioneered gene expression profiling to describe cellular responses to compounds and developed HTS Ames testing for mutagenicity. She brought Xenometrix to profitability which won Deloitte and Touchè Fast 50 Awards for two years before merging the company with Discovery Partners International, Inc. Pauline earned a doctorate in neurochemistry and B.S. degree in biology from Simon Fraser University, in British Columbia, Canada. As a Medical Research Council Fellow, she analyzed oxidized DNA bases and developed and patented DNA base-specific Ames strains at the University of California Berkeley. She was the first to demonstrate DNA repair in differentiated neurons at Stanford University.