Leroy "Lee" Edward Hood is an American biologist who has served on the faculties at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the University of Washington. He is currently Professor and Chrief Strategy OFficer at the Institute for Systems Biology. Dr Hood has developed ground-breaking scientific instruments which made possible major advances in the biological sciences and the medical sciences. These include the first gas phase protein sequencer (1982), for determining the sequence of amino acids in a given protein; a DNA synthesizer (1983), to synthesize short sections of DNA; a peptide synthesizer (1984), to combine amino acids into longer peptides and short proteins; the first automated DNA sequencer (1986), to identify the order of nucleotides in DNA; ink-jet oligonucleotide technology for synthesizing DNA and nanostring technology for analyzing single molecules of DNA and RNA.

Dr Hood believes that a combination of big data and systems biology has the potential to revolutionize healthcare and create a proactive medical approach focused on maximizing the wellness of the individual. He coined the term "P4 medicine" in 2003.

Geoffrey Baird, M.D., Ph.D., is a board certified pathologist at UW Medicine, and professor and acting chair of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology. He directs the Clinical Chemistry Laboratory at Harborview Medical Center.

Dr. Baird’s goal is to provide the highest quality lab services to patients in the UW community and Pacific Northwest region.

Dr. Baird earned his M.D. and Ph.D. from UC San Diego. He is board-certified in Anatomic Pathology, Clinical Pathology and Clinical Chemistry. His clinical and research interests include lab test utilization management, proteomics, tissue analysis, general laboratory medicine, pathology and pathophysiology of organ systems and anatomic pathology.

Mari DeMarco, PhD, DABCC, FCACB, is a Clinical Chemist at Providence Health Care, the Research Director of Providence Research, and a Clinical Associate Professor in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver Canada. Dr. DeMarco completed her PhD in the Biomolecular Structure and Design program at the University of Washington, and a clinical chemistry fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine.

With a strong interest in bridging basic biomedical science, analytical chemistry and laboratory medicine, Dr. DeMarco’s research group focuses on building new biofluid tests for direct translation into patient care. A particular area of interest is advancing protein-based clinical diagnostics for neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease. The goal of this program of research is to ensure that these new tools make the challenging jump from research into healthcare.

The focus of the group is in the development of analytical tools based on advanced separation and mass spectrometry in two areas—nutrition and diseases. We are developing mass spectrometry based tools for the discovery of markers for cancer including ovarian, breast, and prostate. We are pioneering the glycomic approach for the early diagnosis of cancer. In nutrition we are examining human milk as the model for the perfect food and determining bioactive components in milk.

Dr. Stefani Thomas is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the University of Minnesota, and the Associate Medical Director of the M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center West Bank Laboratory. She earned a BA in Biological Sciences from Dartmouth College, a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Southern California, and she completed a Clinical Chemistry postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins. Her research program at the University of Minnesota utilizes mass spectrometry-based clinical proteomics for therapeutic and diagnostic biomarker development.

Peggi Angel is Associate Professor at Medical University of South Carolina, where she works on technology advancements in MALDI imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) and biomarker imaging analyses in cancer disparities. Dr. Angel attended graduate school at the University of Georgia’s Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, graduating with a PhD in 2007. Her graduate research was on development of technologies for mapping N-linked glycan sites in mammalian development. After a postdoctoral fellowship at Emory University focused on membrane proteomics of fetal alcohol syndrome, she won a competitive Postdoctoral Fellowship with the Systems-based Consortium for Organ Design and Engineering. With the Fellowship, she worked at Vanderbilt University in the laboratory of Richard Caprioli on methods using MALDI IMS for developmental biology. Dr. Angel has developed IMS methods for increasing sensitivity of protein detection from tissues, analysis and identification of signaling lipids in negative mode, targeted metabolomics on tissue and cell culture, extracellular matrix protein detection in FFPE tissues, and N-glycomic strategies for proteins, cells, and tissue. Dr. Angel is a co-founder of Glycopath, a company that focuses on glycosylation patterns as a prognostic or diagnostic tool. She serves on the board of N-Zyme Scientifics, a company that produces enzymes for mass spectrometry. Dr. Angel is committed to serving the imaging mass spectrometry community and serves as President-Elect for the US Imaging Mass Spectrometry Society.

Barbara E. Engelhardt, an associate professor, joined the Princeton Computer Science Department in 2014 from Duke University, where she had been an assistant professor in Biostatistics and Bioinformatics and Statistical Sciences. She graduated from Stanford University and received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, advised by Professor Michael Jordan. She did postdoctoral research at the University of Chicago, working with Professor Matthew Stephens, and three years at Duke University as an assistant professor. Interspersed among her academic experiences, she spent two years working at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a summer at Google Research, and a year at 23andMe, a DNA ancestry service. Professor Engelhardt received an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, the Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship, and the Walter M. Fitch Prize from the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. As a faculty member, she received the NIH NHGRI K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, a Sloan Faculty Fellowship, and an NSF CAREER Award. Professor Engelhardt’s research interests involve developing statistical models and methods for the analysis of high-dimensional biomedical data, with a goal of understanding the underlying biological mechanisms of complex phenotypes and human disease.

Extensive experience for the development of statistical methods, tools, and software for the analysis of mass spectrometry-based proteomics and metabolomics data. Highly effective statisticians with over eight years of experience communicating statistical and technical concepts to researchers and clinicians. 5+ years’ experience creating and implementing training programs for chemists, biologists, clinicians and bioinformaticians in Mass Spectrometry-based proteomics community.

Michael H. Gelb is Professor of Chemistry and Barbara L. Weinstein Endowed Chair in Chemistry, Adjunct Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Washington. Major developments in the Gelb lab include discovery of protein prenylation, development of ICAT proteomic reagents, identification of phospholipases involved in lipid mediator generation, development of anti-parasite drugs, and development of mass spectrometry for newborn screening. Awards include: Repligen Award in Chemistry of Biological Processes (Amer. Chem. Soc.), Univ.of Washington Faculty Lecture Award, Gustavus John Esselen Award (Harvard Univ.), AAAS Fellow, NIH Merit Award, Medicines for Malaria Project of the Year Award, Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry, ICI Pharmaceuticals Award for Excellence in Chemistry. The Gelb lab has published more than 500 papers and 100 patents in biological chemistry. The Gelb laboratory has developed mass spectrometry for worldwide newborn screening of lysosomal storage diseases (the latest expansion of newborn screening panels).

Experienced researcher with Ph. D. in Molecular and Cell biology with over 10 years experience in immunology, protein biochemistry, and methods development. Strong neuroimmunology biomarker strategist and mass spectrometry group leader.