SAN DIEGO, June 25, 2013 -- MicroConstants, a Contract Research Organization (CRO) specializing in regulated bioanalysis and DMPK, announces the appointment of Doinita Serban, Ph.D. as director of biomarker research to oversee the expansion of biomarker testing and analysis services for preclinical and clinical diagnostic research. Doinita's extensive experience with biomarker assay development, validation, and profiling of disease panels, coupled with the implementation of the Luminex platform, will enable MicroConstants to broaden their biomarker analysis capabilities to include additional assay formats, such as multiplex immunoassays, gene expression and profiling assays.
Doinita brings to MicroConstants more than 15 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry specializing in cancer and vascular biology, immunology, and bioanalysis in preclinical and clinical research. She has spent over 10 years developing and validating biomarker assays for biopharmaceuticals on a variety of instrumentation platforms to support clinical diagnostic research for various therapeutic areas, including oncology, inflammation, infectious and vascular diseases.
"Although multiplex biomarker assays are a new service offering for MicroConstants, Doinita's in-depth knowledge of biomarker analysis and pharmacodynamic targets will be a valuable asset to the department as we expand our capabilities," says David F. Beyerlein, vice president of global operations at MicroConstants. "These biomarker assays will provide our pharmaceutical and biotech clients with valuable insight into the efficacy of therapies for cancer and other complex diseases to help guide their decisions throughout all phases of drug development."
There is an urgent need for the discovery of biomarkers that can be used in blood-based, non-invasive molecular tests. These tests can be used to assist in the detection and diagnosis of diseases, to classify tissues and patients for clinical trials, and to monitor disease response to treatment and relapse. Furthermore, linking the molecular aberrations of diseases to drug responses can guide treatment choices and identify new therapeutic applications.
MicroConstants will use the Luminex platform to study the cellular fitness of engineered cells in response to a collection of drugs, enabling the systematic analysis of thousands of gene-drug interactions and unveiling of resistance mechanisms. The multiplex technology will also be used to perform both gene and protein expression assays. Custom assays can be created for genotyping and protein assessment (i.e. tyrosine kinases, growth factors etc.), and commercially available kits can be used to monitor cytokine levels.
About MicroConstants, Inc.
MicroConstants is a GLP-compliant Contract Research Organization (CRO) focused on performing regulated bioanalysis, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic analysis to support discovery, preclinical and clinical drug development studies. They specialize in method development, method validation and sample analysis of small molecules, biopharmaceuticals, biomarkers and metabolites using LC/MS/MS, HPLC/UV, immunoassay and multiplex techniques. For more information, please visit http://www.microconstants.com.