Charles L. M. Dunlop
Chief Executive Officer
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Charles founded Ambry Genetics in March of 2000. He has extensive experience in
establishing and managing biology laboratories in research and manufacturing / technology
transfer environments. Previously he worked at Scripps Institute in La Jolla, California
in the molecular biology laboratory of Dr. Gregory Sutcliffe and has been involved
in numerous projects in the development of this science. While at Scripps Institute,
Charles published an article in Nature Magazine on the subject of cloning and characterizing
the Cortistatin gene from the mammalian central nervous system. He is a graduate
of the University of California, San Diego with concentration in biology, mathematics,
physics and economics.
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 15 years. She most recently 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.
Mary J. H. Willis, MD, PhD
Medical Director
Dr. Willis completed her graduate training at the University of Colorado
at Boulder where she earned her PhD in biochemistry. She then moved to
the University of Colorado Health Science Center for Medical School. She
did her internship, residency, and was the chief resident in Pediatrics at
the University of California, San Diego. After a year working for the
Emergency Department at Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego she reentered
training for Medical and Biochemical Genetics at UCSD. During her
training she earned both the Carmel Scholars Award and the Henry Christian
Award for her research in the field of mitochondrial disease diagnostics.
She is a fellow of American Academy of Pediatrics, and a member of the
Society for Inherited Metabolic Disease, the American College of Medical
Genetics, and the ORR, a division of the American Association of Medical
Colleges. She is also on the board for the California chapter of the
United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation.
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 USLABS. 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.
Timothy Vo, PhD, FACMG, CLSp(MB)
Laboratory Director
Dr. Vo is responsible for the operation and supervision of Ambry Genetics molecular
laboratory. Previously, he was the Laboratory Director for Pathogenesys and served
as the Associate Medical Director for US Labs both located in California He has
held director positions at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City and Harper Hospital
in Detroit. Tim 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. He earned his BS in Biology from University
of California, Irvine.
Bruce Gardner
Vice President, Sales and Marketing
Bruce brings a proven record of success at diagnostic service companies. He has
22 years of experience with Fortune 50 corporations such as Johnson and Johnson,
and with start-up companies, too. As vice president of sales and marketing for Wyntek
Diagnostics of San Diego, Bruce grew company sales from $100,000 to $25 million.
In 2001, he guided the company’s sale to Genzyme Corporation for $65 million, then
managed the integration. Before Ambry, Bruce was vice president of sales for Permaxim
of Santa Rosa, California, where he built a national sales organization and increased
sales over 700 percent. Bruce’s experience supports Ambry’s reputation for high-quality
laboratory technology and responsive client services.
Steven Keiles, MS, CGC
Director of Genetic Services
Steven began working with Ambry Genetics in 2000. He has over 20 years of experience
in genetic counseling. Prior to joining Ambry Genetics he was the coordinator of
Genetic Services for Kaiser Permanente Hospital, West Los Angeles. At Cal. State
University Northridge Genetic Counseling Program he served on the Admissions and
Advisory Committees and was a Clinical Site Supervisor. Steven earned his M.S. in
Human Genetics from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York and is a diplomat
of the American Board of Medical Genetics and the American Board of Genetic Counseling.
Currently he serves on the Board of Directors for the National Society of Genetic
Counselors and is the 2008 President-Elect. He has published numerous articles in the areas of cystic fibrosis and
pancreatitis.
Tina Hambuch, PhD
Research Scientist
Dr. Hambuch is a world-class researcher in genomics and bioinformatics and part
of the Ambry team developing new genetic tests. She is expert in analyzing genetic
patterns and in identifying genetic trends in populations. She is also well versed
in bioinformatics, which employs genomic level information to identify the roles
of specific genes in complex, multigene phenotypes. Dr. Hambuch earned her doctorate
from UC Berkeley in Integrative Biology, focusing on immunogenetics. As a post-doctoral
scholar at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, she studied the genetics
of pathogenic bacteria and viruses to identify patterns and rates of disease spread
and evolution. At the University of Munich and UC Irvine, Dr. Hambuch focused on
bioinformatics and gene function.
Steven Swanson, CGMBS, CLSp(MB)
Vice President Regulatory and Laboratory Compliance
Steve has been with Ambry Genetics since its inception. His career has focused in
regulatory affairs, laboratory compliance and pharmaceutical fields. He has a strong
base of experience in FDA-regulated environments such as Braun/McGaw Pharmaceuticals
and, most recently, Qualisys Diagnostics of Carlsbad, California. Additional areas
of expertise include quality assurance and process validation to comply with the
United States Food and Drug Administration and the Clinical Laboratory Improvement
Amendments rules and practices. Steve received his B.S. in Physiology and Chemistry
from California State University, Long Beach.
Lori Ross, MS, CGC
Associate Product Manager / Genetic Counselor
Working in new test development and marketing, Lori is one of three genetic counselors
available to Ambry’s clients. She was certified by the National Board of Genetic
Counseling in 1996 and holds a Master of Science degree in Genetic Counseling from
the University of California, Irvine. She has 15 years experience in collection
and communication of medical research and diagnostic information. Prior to Ambry,
Lori was the Senior Genetic Coordinator for Genzyme Genetics in Orange, California,
where she provided clinical guidance, technical information, specimen handling instructions
and billing information to client physicians, nurses and genetic counselors.
