Home > Management

ReachBio Management

In addition to their unique experiences and qualifications as individuals, ReachBio's Senior Management Team has worked effectively and successfully together within the stem cell industry for almost a decade.

Our Senior Management Team:

Dr. Emer Clarke – Chief Scientific Officer

Mr. Robert Chaney – Chief Operations Officer

Dr. Eric Atkinson – Management Consultant and Strategic Advisor  

........................................................................................................................................................................................

Emer Clarke, PhD – Chief Scientific Officer

Emer has over twenty years of experience in the stem cell biology field in both clinical and industrial settings. Before joining ReachBio she was a member of the scientific and senior management team at StemCell Technologies, Inc in Vancouver BC, where she held multiple high level positions over a 10 year period. She was the founding Scientific Director of StemCell Technologies' Contract Services Division and was responsible for all aspects of client management, study design, and data analysis and interpretation. She was also in charge of StemCell Technologies' Education Division where she was responsible for instigating and managing global proficiency testing programs for bone marrow and cord blood hematopoietic progenitor assays, hands-on training courses in hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic stem cell biology, and many other educational initiatives. As a successful Senior Scientist at StemCell Technologies, Dr. Clarke launched a number of significant products, including a line of media products for mesenchymal stem cell expansion, analysis and in vitro differentiation, a unique angiogenic cell assay and culture medium, a number of hematopoietic stem cell and progenitor kits for the clinical research market, and a variety of cell separation kits.

Prior to joining StemCell Technologies, Emer had many years experience in laboratory-based clinical research in support of a stem cell transplantation program. She was a Senior Clinical Scientist in the Cell Processing Unit at the National Blood Centre in Bristol UK, where she lead the research on the evaluation of new cell therapy protocols for treatment of childhood leukemia and other hematopoietic diseases.

Emer was an Associate Scientist at Cell Therapeutics Inc (CTI) in Seattle from 1992 - 1995, a time when it was a young and vibrant start-up company. At CTI, Emer was responsible for performing a number of different primary cell-based assays in support of the company's drug screening program, including assays for the detection of novel hematopoietic regulatory molecules.

Dr. Clarke is an expert in hematopoietic and stromal (mesenchymal) cell biology. She received her PhD in Hematology from Trinity College, Dublin in 1990. During her graduate program she studied the effects of immunosuppressive compounds on the marrow microenvironment from normal and diseased individuals.

In addition to her role as Chief Scientific Officer at ReachBio, where she is responsible for all aspects of our Laboratory Contract Services, Emer makes her considerable knowledge and expertise available to outside organizations through our Education Services and Consulting Services programs.

BACK TO TOP

........................................................................................................................................................................................

Robert Chaney, MSc, MBA – Chief Operations Officer

Rob has two decades of experience in the life sciences industry in research, sales, management and business development roles. Before joining ReachBio, he was at StemCell Technologies, Inc in Vancouver BC, for almost 10 years where he held a number of key positions. For the final 3 years of his tenure at StemCell Technologies, Rob was responsible for all aspects of business operations of STI's Contract Services Division as its founding Business Director. Prior to running the Contract Services Division, Rob was StemCell Technologies' Manager of International Sales and was responsible for relationship management of all international distributors and revenue generation from markets served through them.

Previous to his term with StemCell Technologies, Rob had many years experience in a variety of research and business aspects of cell-based assays for industrial and clinical applications. He was a clinical scientist at the Bristol Institute for Transfusion Sciences, Bristol UK from 1995 – 1998 where he functioned both in a research and business development role in a collaboration with an industrial partner for the development of a novel rapid blood screening technology.

Rob also has many years of experience in clinical and industrial research in the area of inflammation and its causes. In the late 1980s he was as a technologist at the University of Washington, Harborview Medical Center in Seattle WA, where he worked on inflammatory mediators in diseased lung tissues. From 1992-1995 he was a Research Associate at Seattle-based Cell Therapeutics Inc, where he worked with cell-based in vitro models of inflammation.

Mr. Chaney holds a BSc in Biology from the University of Puget Sound, Tacoma WA, and an MSc in Genetics from the University of Connecticut, Storrs Connecticut. In 2002 he earned an MBA from Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC, the thesis topic of which involved the development of a niche contract services business similar to ReachBio.

BACK TO TOP

........................................................................................................................................................................................

Eric Atkinson, PhD – Strategic Advisor

Eric has over 20 years of experience in academic and industrial life sciences settings and is a respected and seasoned executive in the stem cell research products industry. He is the President of BroadReach BioSystems, Inc., a life sciences consulting and communications organization. Eric is a skilled strategist and has considerable experience in navigating through complicated licensing and intellectual property issues. He has the rare ability to shift seamlessly and quickly between clearly seeing the picture and effectively dealing with the important fine details of contract negotiations. His broad scientific background and business experience also allows him the ability to communicate effectively with a diverse array of stakeholders and to understand the key issues of complex situations, whether they be scientific, corporate or operational in nature.

Prior to his roles with BroadReach BioSystems and ReachBio, Eric was a long-standing member of the senior management team at StemCell Technologies, Inc in Vancouver BC. During his almost 10 years at that company, Eric was responsible for sequentially creating and managing both the Marketing and the Business Development Departments. As StemCell Technologies' Director of Corporate Development, Eric played a seminal role in guiding the company's development and strategic direction through a period of high corporate growth, rapid paradigm and technological change, stem cell industry evolution, and increasing competition. He significantly contributed to both the top and bottom lines, directing and/or executing a large number of successful licensing, distribution, OEM and supply negotiations with diverse entities including large and small industrial partners, academic institutions and individuals.

In addition to his marketing, business development, licensing, and intellectual property experience in the life sciences industry, Eric has considerable experience in communicating complex scientific subjects to general audiences. Before joining StemCell Technologies he was VP and Contributing Editor at Current Research Reports, Inc., a medical science communications company that produced newsletters that explained current advances in multiple sclerosis research and treatment in layman's terms for MS patients and their caregivers.

Dr. Atkinson holds a MSc in Immunology from the University of Manitoba and a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Alberta. His academic research involved studying the biochemical mechanisms of apoptosis, signal transduction in Natural Killer Cells, target cell lysis by Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes, and gene targeting in mouse embryonic stem cells.

Eric currently serves as a voting member on the Research Management Committee of the Canadian Stem Cell Network. Through this volunteer role he gives the Network the benefit of his experience in commercializing new discoveries and products within the stem cell research field.

BACK TO TOP

........................................................................................................................................................................................