GenTel Biosciences adds two South African scientists to Advisory Board

Madison, Wis. - GenTel BioSciences, a protein chip-based life sciences company, has added two South African scientists to its Scientific Advisory Board, which helps the company evaluate new technologies and test technologies developed in its laboratories.

Dr. Reinhard Hiller and Prof. Jonathan Blackburn, both scientists at the Centre for Proteomic & Genomic Research in Cape Town, South Africa, will join Drs. Brian Haab and Lloyd Smith as the company's scientific advisors.

Hiller, who serves as an executive director of the CPGR, is credited with the development of a protein microarray technology platform that led to the first fully certified microarray-based test for allergic diseases in Europe. His experience in commercializing allergy protein arrays, one area of focus for GenTel, should help accelerate the company's efforts in product development and commercialization, according to Bryce Nelson, vice president of research and development for GenTel.

Blackburn, the research director of the CPGR, oversees independent and collaborative translational research programs in applied proteomics and molecular medicine. He is the inventor of nine granted patents and 14 pending patents, and his writings are extensively published in leading scientific journals. His current focus is the application of protein microarray technology in diagnostic marker discovery and in the high throughput study of protein-drug interactions.

The additions of Hiller and Blackburn will enable GenTel to apply its protein array technology to solving problems encountered by researchers studying diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's, according to Alex Vodenlich, president and CEO of GenTel. The company is developing protein chip technology to aid in the development of new pharmaceutical and diagnostic products.

GenTel BioSciences was founded in 2000, and has recently expanded its operations to include a facility in North Carolina's Research Triangle Park.

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