Aanika Biosciences Adds U of Miami Professors: Dr. Sylvia Daunert & Dr. Sapna Deo to its Advisory Board
Aanika Biosciences, inc. welcomes Dr. Sylvia Daunert and Dr. Sapna Deo to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). The University of Miami professors will provide Aanika with invaluable guidance on the development of the company’s “Living Device” platform. Aanika designs and builds microorganisms, which can be used to increase traceability and mitigate various risks within complex supply chains — specifically in food, agriculture and natural resources. Other SAB members include: Dr. George Church (Wyss Institute at Harvard), Andrew Hessel (Chairman of the Human Genome Project-Write) and Dr. Chris Mason (Weill Cornell).
Dr. Daunert is the Lucille P. Markey Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Miller School of Medicine and the Associate Director of the JT Macdonald Foundation Biomedical Nanotechnology Institute of the University of Miami. Prior to joining the University of Miami, Dr. Daunert was the Gill Eminent Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Daunert was also a Distinguished Professor of the College of Arts & Sciences and a University of Kentucky Research Professor. Among others, she is a Fulbright Scholar, an ELAM Fellow, and the recipient of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry van Slyke Research Award, the National Science Foundation-CAREER Award, the Cottrell-Scholars Award, the Lilly Analytical Faculty Award, the American Chemical Society A. F. Findeis Award, the National Science Foundation Special Creativity Award, the Bill Barfield Award from the Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, the Albert D. and Elizabeth H. Kirwan Memorial Prize, the Provost’s Award for Scholarly Achievements of the University of Miami and the 2015 WCA Cancer Researcher of the Year Award. Dr. Daunert is an elected member of the Real Academia Nacional de Farmacia of Spain and Elected Academic D’Honor, Reial Acadèmia de Farmàcia de Catalunya. Dr. Daunert is Executive Editor of Analytical Biochemistry and a member of the Editorial Committee of Annual Reviews in Analytical Chemistry, as well as of the Editorial Advisory Boards of several journals. She serves in the Scientific Advisory Boards of professional, governmental, as well as private institutions. Dr. Daunert’s research interests are in Bionanotechnology. Specifically, her group designs new molecular diagnostic tools and biosensors based on genetically engineered proteins and cells that find applications in the biomedical, environmental, and pharmaceutical fields. Additionally, the research of the group focuses on the development of targeted and responsive drug delivery systems. Dr. Daunert’s work has been featured in over 250 publications, patents, and highlighted by the scientific media and popular press.
Dr. Deo is an Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director (GPD) in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) at University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine. Dr Deo’s research interest is in the development of technologies for the detection of pathogens for resource poor settings. Her work also involves design of novel nanobioanalytical techniques based on luminescence and quantum dots for detection of microRNAs and RNA molecules for application in biomedicine, diagnosis, and pathogen detection. Other areas of research include development of molecular probes for biosensing and bioimaging applications. She is a author and co-author of over 70 scientific publications and several patents and a recipient of the NSF-CAREER Award. Dr. Deo serves on editorial boards of journals, study section panels, and scientific advisory board of biotech industries. Dr. Deo initiated a Molecular Medicine Pathway Program for medical students and serves as its Director. She is a recipient of the inaugural Outstanding Graduate Program Director Award from the University of Miami in 2014. The research of her group is funded by the National Institute of General Medicine, the National Science Foundation, State of Florida, American Cancer Soceity, Coulter Foundation, etc.
