Our Team
Executive Team
Carolyn Bertozzi PhD, Co-Founder and Chair, SAB
Carolyn is a Professor of Chemistry at Stanford and an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She has been recognized with many honors and awards for her research accomplishments. She is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has been awarded the Lemelson-MIT Prize, the Heinrich Wieland Prize, and a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, among many others. In addition to her academic position, Carolyn recently guided the creation and acquisition of a biotech startup, Redwood Biosciences. Professor Bertozzi was awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Jason Tsai PhD, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer
Jason is an inventor of the core ADAP technology and has extensive knowledge of immunology, protein biochemistry and engineering, and physical chemistry. A graduate of UC Berkeley and Stanford, he has filed numerous patents in biomedical science and published several peer-reviewed papers in cancer physical biology, diagnostics, and PCR-based assays. In addition, he was a graduate of the UCSF Lean Launchpad program, an NSF-sponsored biotechnology accelerator program. He was a Gold medalist at the 2008 International Chemistry Olympiad.
Peter Robinson PhD, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer
Peter is an inventor of the core ADAP technology and recently completed his doctorate in chemistry for graduate work performed at UC Berkeley and Stanford. In the course of his degree program, he initiated four projects that apply chemical principles to create tools for the detection glycoproteins and antibodies. These projects have demanded broad expertise in numerous techniques in chemical synthesis, bioconjugation, molecular biology, and immunology. This work forms the basis of several peer-reviewed papers and patents.
David Seftel MD MBA, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
David is a seasoned clinician with a strong background in biotech and entrepreneurship. At Harvard Business School, he co-founded the Health Industry Club which continues today to drive interdisciplinary innovation in the US and around the world. He has worked in a number of small startups, including helping to successfully pilot a diagnostic product through 510k certification. He has also advised and mentored numerous startups including those in the UCSF Lean Launchpad program and those presenting plans to venture capital and angel investors.
Research Team
Huong Vu, Research Associate
Huong received her Bachelor's degree in Cell Biology at the University of Kansas, and M.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology/Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering at University of Hawaii at Manoa. She is currently working for R&D in developing molecular diagnostic probes. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, sketching, and lindy hop.
Jesse Cortez, PhD, Director, Laboratory Operations and Automation
Jesse is the Automation Lead for Enable Biosciences with a PhD in synthetic organic chemistry from UC Berkeley. His synthetic experience led him to his post-doctoral work at UCSF where he synthesized antagonists for nuclear hormone receptors giving him experience in biochemistry, mass spectrometry and protein binding. At Enable Biosciences, he uses his broad scientific background to work on various new challenges that emerge, such as assay automation. When not working in the lab, he can be found performing musical theater around the Bay Area
Nicholas Wang, Senior Lab Technician
Nicholas graduated from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo obtaining his Bachelor's Degree in Biological Sciences. At Enable Biosciences, he works on developing experimental designs for the future of ADAP and manages inventory for the Research team. Outside of work, his interests are in swimming and fencing.
Noemi Fonseca, Project Supervisor
Noemi supervises Enable Bioscience’s serosurvey efforts, testing tens of thousands of households for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. She received a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the college of Science and Mathematics at CSU Fresno. Her background experience includes working for the USDA-ARS and UC Berkeley as a Biological Laboratory Technician and UC Davis as a Research Associate. When off work, she can be found running around the Bay.
Clinical Team
Laurie Summerville, Clinical Relations Manager
Laurie is a graduate of The University of Cincinnati with a bachelor’s degree in Education. In her early years, she was involved in Education and Social Work, working with troubled youth. She moved into the Customer Service and Account Management arena about 20 years ago. She feels so privileged to be able to bring her particular area of expertise to the Enable Biosciences team and looks forward to all of the great things this company will accomplish. Outside of work her passions are dogs and music.
Bridgette Hinton, Clinical Laboratory Scientist
Brigette attended Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Medical Laboratory Sciences. She is ASCP certified as an MLS and is the newest member of the clinical laboratory team at Enable Biosciences. Brigette's past work experience includes working in a hospital setting in the Kansas City, MO area. She grew up in the Bay Area and recently moved back over the summer. In her free time, she enjoys outdoor activities such as camping, gardening, and hanging out with her husband and two dogs.
Lynette Sawyer DPH, Laboratory Director
Lynette is the Laboratory Director for the Enable Biosciences Clinical Laboratory. She holds a doctorate in public health from UC Berkeley and is a licensed Bioanalyst. Lynette is a microbiologist, specializing in virology, with a career spanning clinical, public health and biotech laboratories in positions ranging from bench work to management. The latter included direct participation in submissions to both European and US regulatory agencies. She has been directing clinical laboratories intermittently since receiving her Bioanalyst license in 1989.
Jerry Hurst, Technical Supervisor
Jerry has over 35 years experience in clinical laboratory science, including work as a licensed Clinical Laboratory Scientist in all specialties. After certification as Public Health Microbiologist and completion of Master’s degree in Microbiology, he worked as clinical microbiologist at Stanford Medical Center for 8 years and 4 years at the California State Department of Health Viral and Rickettsial Disease Laboratory as a research virologist.
Subsequently, he joined the California Laboratory Field Services as an inspector and eventually managed the California and federal CLIA inspection programs statewide, the HIV approval program, and the Examiner training program thereby gaining expert knowledge of CLIA, state, and accreditation requirements.
Upon retirement from state service my work in the private sector included Administrative Laboratory Director of 2 Kaiser Hospital laboratories, Unilab Vice President for Regulatory Affairs, Laboratory Director of the Humboldt and Fresno County Public Health Laboratories and Technical Supervisor of multiple clinical laboratories.
Since 2001, he has worked as an independent consultant. Clients include national and international laboratories, biotechnology companies, state and county public health laboratories, private attorneys, federal Department of Justice, and research laboratories.
Devang Tandel, Clinical Laboratory Scientist
Devang performs clinical tests to support the Enable Biosciences Clinical Research Lab. In his free time he enjoys watching movies with his friends.
Ai Tran, Laboratory Technician
Ai graduated from UCLA with a bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and supports Enable Biosciences’ serological survey testing. She is passionate about uplifting others, and has previously supported first generation high school students through tutoring, counseling, and mentorship. When not at work, she often spends time going on Wikipedia deep dives.
Zaochi Tran, Manufacturing Associate
Zaochi is a recent college graduate from Notre Dame de Namur University with a bachelor’s degree in Biology and a minor in Chemistry. She is the newest member of the manufacturing team at Enable Biosciences and has previously worked alongside the Contract Testing team. In her free time, she enjoys going to the dog beach with her Shih Tzu and long distance running.