Charles L.M. Dunlop
Chief Executive Officer
Chairman of the Board of Directors

Mr. Dunlop founded Ambry Genetics in November 1999. He has extensive experience in establishing and managing laboratories in research, manufacturing and technology transfer environments. Among his various positions in the general scientific industry, he worked in the molecular biology laboratories of the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California. His background also includes employment with the research laboratories of diagnostic kit provider Gen-Probe, and he managed the molecular biology and pharmacology group of Biophysica, a preclinical pharmaceutical development company. He is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego with concentrations in biology, mathematics, physics, economics and history. He has published numerous scientific articles, and has guided Ambry Genetics from inception to a highly reputable and successful enterprise.

Anja Kammesheidt, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer

Dr. Kammesheidt directs all R&D ventures for Ambry Genetics and has been active in research in the biological sciences for over 20 years. Prior to joining Ambry in 2002, she worked as Senior Research Investigator at Purdue Pharma where she conducted target identification and validation studies for neuropathic pain drug development. Anja is a trained molecular neurobiologist and has worked in diverse research areas focusing on Alzheimer's disease, neuromuscular dystrophies and viral gene therapy. She has published numerous scientific publications and is the author on several patents. She received her Ph.D. and B.S.in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Irvine and did her post-doctoral research at the University of California, San Diego.

Charles M. Caporale
Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Caporale joined Ambry Genetics in November 2008 as chief financial officer. Since 1997 he has served as chief financial officer for various southern California publicly-traded companies operating principally in the insurance and pharmaceutical markets.  Prior to 1997, Mr. Caporale served as senior vice president and chief financial officer of New York-based Minet, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the St. Paul Companies.  Mr. Caporale received his BBA in accounting from Pace University in New York.  He is a New York State licensed CPA.

Taosheng Huang, MD, PhD, FACMG, CGMB
Medical Director, Pharmaceutical Services

Dr. Huang is a physician scientist, board-certified in pediatrics, clinical genetics, and clinical molecular genetics. He completed his pediatric residency at Georgetown University Medical Center and completed his fellowship in Clinical Genetics and Clinical Molecular Genetics at Harvard Medical School. From 1999 to 2001, he was a faculty member at Children’s Hospital of Boston, Harvard Medical School. Currently he is an associate professor with tenure at University of California, Irvine, where he has been since 2001. He served as the co-director of Mito Med Molecular Diagnostics Lab and director of the Cardiovascular Genetic Clinic. He is a principal investigator for multiple grants researching molecular mechanisms of a variety of genetic diseases.  In his role as the Medical Director at Ambry Genetics, his primary focus is on pharmacogenomics.

James Thompson, MD, PhD
Medical Director

Dr. Thompson is a board-certified Pathologist with extensive experience in anatomic pathology, hematopathology and molecular genetics. He continues to serve as Chief Executive Officer and Medical Director for Pathogenesys, which conducts pathology testing to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies develop and test cancer drugs and treatments, and Senior Medical Director for US LABS.  Previously he was Vice President and Medical Director for Oncotech, Inc., which conducts molecular oncology testing services.  His responsibilities included the direction of CLIA-certified oncology testing services, FDA Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) contract research services, and research pathology. Dr. Thompson also held various positions at Impath, a commercial pathology lab, ranging from Director of Biopharmaceutical Service to Vice President of Technology and Medical Director of Impath’s Predictive Oncology in Los Angeles.  Dr. Thompson received his medical degree and doctorate from the University of California, Irvine.  He completed residency in anatomic pathology and a fellowship in molecular pathology from Stanford University.  He also completed a fellowship in hematopathology at the University of California, Irvine under the direction of Dr. Michael Samoszuk and Dr. James Baker.

Ardy Arianpour, MBA
Director of Business Development
Pharmaceutical and Genomic Services

Mr. Arianpour joined Ambry Genetics in 2009 as Director of Business Development responsible for the Pharmaceutical and Genomic Services Department, with more than eight years experience in life science sales, business development, and strategic planning. Before joining Ambry Genetics, Mr. Arianpour was Manager of Business Development at Cogenics, a division of Clinical Data. Prior to that, he was with Eurogentec North America as Field Application Specialist and National Account Manager at DMI Medical, where he built sales and business opportunities throughout North America. Mr. Arianpour successfully developed and negotiated complex transactions including major account sales, strategic alliances, and partnerships with top pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Mr. Arianpour began his career in life sciences at the prestigious Salk Institute for Biological Studies. He received a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Irvine and an MBA in Strategic Management from Marshall Goldsmith School of Management at Alliant International University/University of California, San Diego.

Timothy Vo, PhD, FACMG, CLSp(MB)
Laboratory Director

Dr. Vo is responsible for the overall operation of Ambry Genetics’ clinical molecular laboratory. He developed and is currently coordinating a Clinical Genetics Molecular Biologist Scientist training program at Ambry Genetics. Previously, he was the Laboratory Director for Pathogenesys and served as the Associate Medical Director for US Labs. He has held director positions and contributed significantly in setting up molecular diagnostic laboratories at both Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City and Harper Hospital in Detroit. Dr. Vo has co-authored numerous scientific publications. He received his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Genetics and conducted his post-doctoral research at Wayne State University in Michigan.

Chia-Ling Gau, PhD, ABMG
Technical Director

As Technical Director of the clinical molecular laboratory, Dr. Gau is responsible for the laboratory’s day- to-day technical supervision to ensure the highest quality of molecular diagnostic results. She works closely with the Laboratory Director and the company’s Chief Scientific Officer to implement new in-house developed assays. Dr. Gau completed her post-doctoral fellowship in Clinical Molecular Genetics at the University of California, Los Angeles, focusing on the development of a mouse model for human arginase deficiency. She earned her Ph.D. in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics from the same institution and has co-authored numerous scientific publications.

Steven Keiles, MS, CGC
Vice President, Director of Genetic Services

Mr. Keiles began working at Ambry in 2000 where he oversees the client services department. He is also involved in contracting, new product development, pricing, marketing, and research publication. He obtained his masters degree in genetic counseling from Sarah Lawrence College in 1987. As a genetic counselor at Kaiser Permanente his responsibilities included clinic coordination, program implementation, and providing counseling for all genetic referrals. He supervised and mentored students from the California State University at Northridge’s genetic counseling program. He also helped to set up the Kaiser West Los Angeles Sickle Cell Hemoglobinopathy Center. He was elected the 2009 President of the National Society of Genetic Counselors where he is responsible for leading the association and serving as the chief spokesperson. He has over 20 years of clinical experience and his research publications include molecular diagnostic testing for cystic fibrosis and pancreatitis.