Lybradyn History

The company was founded in late 2000 and has built an experienced team of scientists and management focused on commercializing products and technology.

In 2003, the company began a collaborative relationship with researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago to commercialize protein products for military and agricultural applications.

In 2004 Lybradyn acquired Ingenza, Inc. as part of its ongoing growth strategy for developing protein expression technologies for producing protein based products for the chemical process industry.

In December 2004, Lybradyn opened its new research and headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois, which offers a facility to enable progressive growth for scientific and administrative staff. The site is conveniently located in Chicago's western suburbs close to airports and major transportation corridors.

Staff

Wendy Aikens is a cofounder and president of the company. Wendy has 10 years experience in microbiology research in both academic and industrial environments. She received a M.A. in biology from California State University, Fullerton. Her experience includes positions at Gensia Pharmaceuticals, Chiron Intraoptics, Erickson Cosmetics and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Department of Microbiology.

Robert Turner is the director of molecular engineering at Lybradyn. Robert earned a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and worked with Paul Schimmel as a postdoctoral associate at the Scripps Research Institute. Robert has most recently held positions with ThermoGen, in which he was a research scientist and project leader responsible for genetic engineering and protein expression programs for multiple clients and internal product development. Robert is a specialist in molecular engineering, protein expression and applied molecular biology.

John Aikens directs the business development activities at Lybradyn. John received a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, Irvine and held a postdoctoral study position in biochemistry and biophysics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Over the last 10 years, he has been involved in research, business development and management positions at three start up technology and biotechnology companies and was a team member for successful initial public offerings with Nanophase Technologies and MediChem Life Sciences.