Biography
Tonya Ward is an accomplished microbiome scientist with expertise in clinical and experimental research, bioinformatics, next generation sequencing and translating data into insights. She's passionate about accelerating microbiome science through reproducible research and enabling high-power studies by creating services that scale. Tonya holds a Bachelor of Science in Genetics from the University of Western Ontario and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Ottawa.

Microbial Profiling Showcase:
Diversigen
Diversigen empowers microbiome discovery through sequencing, analysis, and consulting services. The combined bench strength of Diversigen is unparalleled in the industry, providing you with access to those who are pioneering advancements in the microbiome field.

Metatranscriptomics: Enabling Biomarker Discovery

Biography
Dr. Iwasiow completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Research Council of Canada and he holds a Ph.D. degree in Cellular and Molecular Medicine from the University of Ottawa. Dr. Iwasiow he has held various positions across Research and Product Development at DNA Genotek where he and his team contribute significantly to the company's patent portfolio in numerous areas including nucleic acid stabilization methods and physical sample collection devices. Dr. Iwasiow advanced his career within the organization, resulting in the appointment to his current role of Vice President of Innovation and Technology. Under his leadership, the team contributed to successful 510(k) clearances of Oragene•Dx, the first non-invasive DNA collection device for at-home and direct to consumer use. Most recently his team’s efforts lead to a 510(k) clearance of OMNIgene•GUT Dx, the first of its kind device for self-collection and stabilization of fecal samples for microbiome profiling.

Microbial Profiling Showcase:
DNA Genotek Inc
DNA Genotek Inc., Novosanis and Diversigen are subsidiaries of OraSure Technologies, Inc. working to provide high-quality sample collection products and comprehensive services for sample processing, sequencing, and bioinformatic analysis. Our solutions enable microbiome discovery for academic, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agricultural and environmental applications.

A New Benchmark for Gut Microbiome Collections
DNA Genotek introduces OMNIgene®•GUT Dx, the first FDA-authorized device for the collection of human fecal samples and assessment of the microbiome profile. Validated using WGS, it provides a stable and reproducible representation of the in-vivo fecal bacterial community composition.

Biography
Satish is an innovator in data platforms, pioneering the development of complex computational pipelines, as well as novel machine-learning models designed to address critical challenges in various human diseases. Prior to Second Genome, Satish was part of many unicorn startups that successfully exited or went IPO, where he led the development of the platforms, scaled up technical stacks using modern software architecture and up leveled many teams. Satish mentors other engineering leaders regularly and wants to contribute more to the software community.

Microbial Profiling Showcase:
Second Genome
We are a tech-enabled biotech company. We built a proprietary platform turning microbial genetics into precision therapeutics and have cracked microbiome code. We are advancing a pipeline of precision therapeutics and biomarkers. We are delivering on collaborations and ready to make a difference for patients.

sg-4sight: Therapeutic Peptide and Biomarker Platform
Bacteria evoke changes in cells by producing and emitting peptides that can alter pathways for inflammation, transport, proliferation and metabolism. To discover these peptides and their targets, we built SG4Sight to collect clinical microbiome-data, conduct multi-technology meta-analysis, find the biomarkers, peptide therapeutic candidates.

Biography
Meredith is a passionate strategist for precision medicine, and loves bringing together the right partners to make real change in patient care. Meredith integrates scientific, technical, clinical and commercial insights to drive corporate strategy, business development, and investor relations for Karius. Prior to joining Karius she was an Associate Partner at McKinsey and Company in the healthcare practice, where she specialized in developing growth strategies for precision medicine companies, led clinical and partnership strategies with national healthcare providers, and developed successful market entry approaches for both diagnostic and therapeutic products. She holds both a Ph.D. in Neurobiology and Behavior and a BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Microbial Profiling Showcase:
Karius
Karius is a life sciences company transforming infectious disease diagnostics with genomics. The company’s genomics platform delivers unprecedented insight into the microbial landscape through the innovative use of next-generation sequencing to analyze microbial cell-free DNA, identifying over 1000 pathogens from a blood draw.

Microbial Profiling in Precision Medicine
Microbial cell free DNA as a tool to drive higher diagnostic yield in diagnosis and surveillance

Biography
Dr. Nur A Hasan is a molecular microbiologist with experiences in microbial genomics, microbiome, bioinformatics and molecular ecology. Dr. Hasan is an accomplished Executive with experience in strategic development of technology innovation in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and life science industries. In his multidisciplinary research experience, Dr. Hasan led numerous large-scale genomic, metagenomic and microbiome projects that resulted in multiple patents and over 100 peer-reviewed articles on microbiome, biomarker discovery, molecular ecology, and infectious diseases.

Microbial Profiling Showcase:
EzBiome
EzBiome is a microbiome company which applies precision microbiome discovery platform to shorten the time for discovery and development of microbiota-based therapeutics and companion diagnostics for microbiome-related diseases.

An Advanced Microbiome Platform for Discovery of Exciting New Bio
Empowering discovery of exciting new biology and microbiome biomarkers for companion diagnostics and therapeutics using precision taxonomy.