Diagnostic HYBRIDS Hires HIV Virologist to Direct New Company Program
Diagnostic HYBRIDS announced today that Miguel E. Quinones-Mateu, Ph.D. has joined the company as director of its recently created HIV Program. His principal responsibility will be directing the technical and commercial development activities associated with novel assays for anti-retroviral drug resistance.
“We are delighted that Dr. Quinones-Mateu has chosen to join DHI. Miguel is a world class virologist with an extraordinary track record in the field of HIV drug development and diagnostics,” said David Scholl, Ph.D., president and CEO of Diagnostic HYBRIDS. “His molecular virology expertise will not only be used within our HIV Program but also with related molecular and cell-based projects in our pipeline. He will complement our strong scientific team nicely, and enable us to accelerate opportunity in the growing HIV drug resistance testing market.”
Prior to joining Diagnostic HYBRIDS, Dr. Quinones-Mateu served as assistant professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics at the Lerner Research Institute of The Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. He has received several research grants throughout his academic tenure from the federal government (National Institutes of Health), private foundations, and industry. During his more than 16 years in the HIV/AIDS field, his research efforts focused on HIV-1 genetic variability, evolution, fitness, and the relationship of these factors with drug resistance, including the study of novel antiviral strategies.
“I am looking forward to this new challenge in my professional career. I am confident that the transition from academia to the corporate world will be greatly facilitated by the excellent technical staff at DHI. Moreover, I have no doubt that DHI’s reputation and brand awareness for innovation and quality products within the clinical virology community will translate well into the success of our novel HIV Program in both the diagnostic and clinical trial arenas,” said Quinones-Mateu.
Dr. Quinones-Mateu holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the Universidad Central de Venezuela where his initial work in HIV led to the first isolation and molecular characterization of HIV-1 isolates from Venezuela at the National Institute of Health in Caracas. He received his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the Centro de Biologia Molecular “Severo Ochoa”, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (Spain), where he contributed to the first detection of drug-resistant viruses in patients never treated with antiretroviral drugs. Dr. Quinones-Mateu continued his training as a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He focused his effort on the study of HIV-1 fitness and its relationship with drug resistance and disease progression, developing novel systems to quantify HIV-1 replicative fitness. Dr. Quinones-Mateu has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, reviews and book chapters and has participated in multiple national and international grant review and advisory panels on AIDS and HIV Drug Resistance.
About Diagnostic HYBRIDS
Diagnostic HYBRIDS invents, develops, manufactures, and sells innovative diagnostic and analytical products for a wide range of viral respiratory diseases, herpes virus infections, and other specific viral and thyroid diseases. The company also develops and commercializes innovative and genetically engineered cell-based detection products for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, with an initial focus on pharmacology assays and products that measure drug clearance and anti-viral interventions with drugs and vaccines. The company is certified to ISO 13485 standards and manufactures live continuous and primary cell cultures for clinical diagnostics and pharmacology assays from its headquarters in Athens, OH. Diagnostic HYBRIDS was named one of the 500 Fastest Growing Companies in America in 2004 and 2005 by Inc. Magazine. The company is a pillar member of Omeris, a statewide organization of bioscience companies accelerating the bioscience and healthcare economy in Ohio. For more information, please visit www.dhiusa.com.