SAN ANTONIO, June 28, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- bioAffinity Technologies, a privately held company advancing early stage cancer diagnostics and precision cancer therapeutics, today announced four scientists have joined the company to advance development and commercialization of its breakthrough technologies.
bioAffinity Technologies’ expansion reflects its progress toward commercialization in 2018 of the Company’s initial diagnostic product, a non-invasive, early-stage lung cancer test called CyPath ® Lung to detect lung cancer in its earliest stages when it is most treatable. The porphyrin-based CyPath ® preferentially binds to cancer cells and labels them with distinct fluorescence for detection by flow cytometry.
“Our new team members are exceptional scientists dedicated to advancing our platform technologies,” said bioAffinity President and CEO Maria Zannes. “Their experience, skills and innovative spirit align perfectly with bioAffinity’s mission to bring to market safer, more effective cancer treatments and patient-friendly tests that accurately diagnose early-stage cancer.”
Mr. Xavier Reveles, MS, CG(ASCP) CM joins bioAffinity as its Director of Operations, where he will manage commercialization of the Company’s diagnostic and therapeutic products including CyPath ® Lung. He brings more than 25 years of experience as a clinical geneticist skilled in the creation and management of CLIA clinical laboratories, coding and CPT reimbursement valuations. Mr. Reveles is board certified by the American Society of Clinical Pathology as a clinical specialist in cytogenetics. He was Laboratory Director for OncoPath Laboratory – START Cancer Center in San Antonio, Texas. Mr. Reveles is (co)author of 15 publications and three abstracts in peer-reviewed journals. He earned his Master’s Degree in biology/genetics from the University of The Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas.
Patricia Araujo, Ph.D., joins bioAffinity Technologies as a staff scientist where she is working to commercialize CyPath ® Lung. She completed her post-doctoral training as a molecular biologist at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas, where she investigated the networks formed by RNA binding proteins and miRNAs and their connection to biological processes and cancer. She received her Doctorate from the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil and is an (co)author on more than 15 publications and a contributor to eight abstracts.
Lydia Bederka, Ph.D., also joins the team commercializing CyPath ® Lung as a staff scientist. She is a molecular virologist with an emphasis on viruses that cause hemorrhagic fever. Dr. Bederka most recently worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute where she performed high containment laboratory (BSL-4) studies for advancing the development of Ebola virus diagnostic assays. She received her Doctorate in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from the University of California, in Irvine.
Shao-Chiang (Michael) Lai, Ph.D. joins bioAffinity Technologies in the Basic Science division as a staff scientist. Dr. Lai completed his post-doctoral fellowship at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia, where he focused on non-small cell lung carcinomas. He earned his Doctorate in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. Dr. Lai has presented several projects at scientific events such as the Cold Spring Harbor Lab Symposium, Targeting Cancer, including presentation of the poster TTF-1 (NKX2.1) modulates cholesterol metabolism and biosynthesis in lung cancer . He has published eight peer-reviewed articles and one book chapter in Thyroid Hormone.
About bioAffinity Technologies
bioAffinity Technologies, Inc. ( www.bioaffinitytech.com ) is a privately held development-stage company addressing the significant unmet need for non-invasive, early-stage cancer diagnosis and treatment. The Company develops proprietary in-vitro diagnostic tests and targeted cancer therapeutics using breakthrough technology that preferentially targets cancer cells. Research and optimization of its platform technology are conducted in bioAffinity Technologies’ laboratories and at the University of Texas Health Center at San Antonio through a collaborative research agreement. The Company’s platform technology will be developed to diagnose, monitor and treat many cancers.
Contact: Maria Zannes, 505.400.9747
