Philip Goelet PhD, President and co-founder of Acidophil

Dr Goelet is a scientist, entrepreneur and investor with management experience in biotechnology and venture capital funding. He received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Cambridge, studying with Drs. Sydney Brenner and Jonathan Karn at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology.

He then worked as a Helen Hay Whitney Fellow between 1984 and 1987 at Columbia University in the laboratory of Dr. Eric Kandel. In 1990 he founded Molecular Tool, Inc., where he co-invented SNP (“single nucleotide polymorphism”) analysis technology. As its CEO, he completed Molecular Tool’s merger with GeneScreen, and subsequently as a Director of GeneScreen he participated in its acquisition in 1999 by Orchid Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: ORCH), where he served on the Scientific Advisory Board. Between 1995 and 2001, he served as an officer and director of the Rhode Island Corporation (a private investment company) and its successor, NORIC, which was acquired by Pogo Producing Company (NASDAQ: PPP) in 2001.

In 1997, he participated in the formation of RiboTargets, Plc., UK (an RNA structure-based drug discovery company), on whose board he served until 2000. Currently, he is a director of Red Abbey Venture Partners, LLC, a life sciences private equity partnership, formed with Frank Bonsal and Matt Zuga.

Sydney Brenner MD PhD, co-founder of Acidophil

Dr Brenner is a Fellow of the Royal Society, a Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences and a recipient of the Albert Lasker Medical Research Award, 1971. He participated in the discovery of messenger RNA and, with Francis Crick, showed that the genetic code was composed of triplets. He is the principal investigator of the massively parallel DNA analysis technologies of Lynx Therapeutics and was a member of the board of directors from 1993 to 2001.

He began his career in the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, and became the Director of its successor, the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, in 1979. He became the Director of the MRC Unit of Molecular Genetics in 1987, retiring in 1992. He is a founder of Combichem, Inc. and served on its Scientific Advisory Board. He founded the Molecular Sciences Institute in Berkley and retired as Director of Research in February 2001. He is now a Distinguished Research Professor of The Salk Institute, La Jolla, California. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2002 for his pioneering work in genetics and molecular biology. He has received numerous awards and prizes and is a member of several national scientific academies.

Annastasiah Mhaka PhD, Principal

Dr. Mhaka received her degree in Cellular and Molecular Medicine from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD. Her main focus was drug design and synthesis for treatment of cancer. As part of her thesis work, she characterized and validated novel targets for the treatment of cancer under the direction of Drs Samuel Denmeade and John Isaacs. Dr. Mhaka helped design drug candidates that have demonstrated great potential in preclinical models for cancer and are under development for their translation to the clinic by GenSpera. Her current role at Acidophil is finding environmentally benign and sustainable technological solutions to transport fuels (bio-fuels), industrial chemicals and their intermediates (bio-chemicals), as well as development of alternative energy sources (bio-energy). Her ultimate goal is to, in these sectors, develop companies that promote self-sustenance.

Simon Aspland PhD, Principal

In addition to his work as a Principal at Acidophil, Dr Aspland is the Director of Research and Development of Arginetix Inc, a company co-founded by Acidophil. He has worked with Acidophil since 2003, initially as a senior scientist at Dihedron. He is a co-founder of Stell with Dr Monika Liljedahl, a company which developed technology for producing genetically modified cells which has subsequently been licensed to Sangamo Biosciences. Dr Aspland’s post-doctoral work was with Dr Kees Murre at the University of California, San Diego, developing mouse models of childhood leukemia. He received his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Cambridge, studying homeotic genes with Dr Rob White.

Joseph Beah, Chief Information Officer

Joseph Beah is focused on developing and implementing a virtual environment for collaborative research at Acidophil. He received his Chief Information Officer certification from the Federal CIO University and the University of Maryland University College. Joseph Beah received his Masters degree in technology management from the University of Pennsylvania. He has managed information technology at Acidophil since 2003.

 

Kathy Miller, Controller

Kathy Miller, CPA, graduated from University of Baltimore with a BS in accounting and holds an MBA from Loyola College in Baltimore, where she concentrated in Finance. She has extensive experience in the areas of budgeting and financial reporting. She began her career as a staff accountant for Ernst & Young. She then spent eight years as Accounting Manager with a local publishing company. Prior to joining Acidophil, Mrs. Miller was the Assistant Controller at Class Produce Group. She has provided leadership and direction to management and has overseen the administration of numerous privately held companies.