The Eureka Genomics Team

Dr. Yuriy Fofanov, CTO/Co-Founder

Dr. Fofanov, the inventor of Eureka Genomics' core technology, is in charge of the development and implementation of the company's computational technology. He is also an Associate Professor of Computer Science, Biology and Biochemistry, Director of the Bioinformatics Lab at University of Houston, Adjunct Associate Professor Dept. of Biology and Biochemistry, Rice University, Houston TX, Adjunct Associate Professor, Dept. Health Informatics, School of Health Information Science, University of Texas, Houston, TX, and faculty member of the Methodist Hospital Research Institute, Houston, TX.

Since 2001, his lab at the University of Houston has been conducting research in the area of analysis of statistical properties of short subsequences in microbial genomes and their link to pathogen evolution and identification. Dr. Fofanov's lab has developed several highly efficient algorithms and software applications for the analysis of genomic sequences. His lab also created and maintains a large collection of over 200,000 genomic sequences. His research focuses on the development of new pathogen detection technologies and general understanding of virulence and the dynamic of the host-pathogen interaction. At the University of Houston, Dr. Fofanov's research is supported by various U.S. federal (NIH, DHS, W. M. Keck foundation) and State of Texas (Texas Learning and Computational Center) sources (total awards amount - $5.5M+ during last seven years).


Dr. Heather Koshinsky, CSO/Co-Founder

Dr. Heather Koshinsky, microbial geneticist, is in charge of the sequencing facilities as well as the testing and development of the scientific applications. She is also a co-founder and CEO of Investigen, a molecular diagnostics company. Prior to founding Investigen, Inc., she supervised microbiological/molecular biological research projects involving yeast and bacterial genetics and food safety at the USDA/University of California, Berkeley, Plant Gene Expression Center and as an assistant professor at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Dr. Koshinsky obtained a B.Sc. in Biology and a Ph.D. in Applied Microbiology from University of Saskatchewan, and a Certificate of Business Administration from University of California, Berkeley Extension.

Dr. Koshinsky directs internal research to address specific market needs and secures, maintains and overseas collaborations and projects that generate and use high through put sequence data. Example projects include (1) determining mutations rates, (2) examining complex environmental samples, (3) improving sample processing logistics, (4) characterizing rare viral variants in clinical samples, (5) identifying human remains, (6) identifying xNA associated with colorectal cancer, (7) identifying xNA associated with neurological disorders, (8) identifying xNA associated with vulnerable plaques, (9) characterizing the microbiome associated with pre-term birth, (10) for routine mapping and assembly, (11) identifying rare SNPs, (12) discovering novel RNAs, (13) constructing and comparing previously unknown transcriptomes, (14) de novo assembling genomes, and (15) developing reference samples.


Didier G. Perez, COO/CFO/Co-Founder

Didier Perez is in charge of the day-to-day management of Eureka Genomics' financial and business development. During the last seven years, Didier Perez has also been the COO and CFO of Investigen Inc., a molecular diagnostics company located in California. Prior to that, he served as Director at MarketNews International, a financial news network that specializes in fixed income news, and CFO of MagnetPoint, a communication company. Other experience includes Managing Director at Plantagenet Capital Management, an investment banking firm specialized in turnaround and M&A situations, and financial consulting with Merrill Lynch International, one of the world's leading financial management and advisory companies.

Dr. Viacheslav Fofanov, Director of Bioinformatics

Dr. V. Fofanov is in charge of the day-to-day activities of the Eureka Genomics Bioinformatics Center located in Houston, TX. He leads development of computational and statistical tools for the analysis, manipulation and storage of large amounts of genomic data. His research is focused on the applications of Next Generation Sequencing technology to discovery of unknown pathogen, the analysis of the host-pathogen interactions and the detection of genomic variation. Dr. Fofanov received a Ph.D. in Statistics from Rice University.

 

Karen L Roberts, Director of Sales

Karen joined Eureka Genomics in March 2010. She brings 26 years of expertise in the pharmaceutical and biotech community in proteomics and genomics, driving sales and increasing market share while building long term relationships with customers.

Throughout her career Karen has helped establish and implement early sales strategies for the leaders in life sciences instrument, software and service providers, such as Applied Biosystems, Millipore, Spotfire, NextBio, Protein Forest and now Eureka Genomics.

Karen received a MS in Cellular and Molecular Biology and a BS in Biology from the University of Michigan.