Team

Nuclein, LLC was founded in 2017 by experienced biotechnology entrepreneurs Alan Blake and Dr. Richard Crockett. The company’s mission has been to enable simple, affordable, rapid, and accurate testing for everyone.  Nuclein acquired the DASH™ Rapid PCR System in 2023 via a merger with Minute Molecular Diagnostics, Inc., which was founded by Dr. David Kelso, Dr. Sally McFall, and Kara Palamountain.

The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

Leadership Team

Alan Blake, Nuclein CEO

Alan Blake

Mr. Alan Blake is Chief Executive Officer and a Co-Founder of Nuclein. Prior to his involvement with Nuclein, Mr. Blake was a Co-Founder and CEO of Yorktown Technologies LP, which developed and marketed GloFish®, the world’s first widely commercialized biotech animal. Launched in 2003, GloFish subsequently grew to become the most visible consumer biotech product in the world, available in more than 7,000 retail locations, including Walmart, PetSmart and Petco. GloFish was sold to Spectrum Brands Inc. (NYSE: SPB) in 2017. Before GloFish, while a student at the University of Texas at Austin, Mr. Blake founded and led ClassMap, a venture capital-funded startup in the online learning space. Mr. Blake was a recipient of the Austin Under 40 award, and he has also served as a Board Member for numerous companies and nonprofit organizations, including currently serving on the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business Advisory Council. He graduated with highest honors from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance and holds 25 patents.

Steven Back, Nuclein

Steven Back

Mr. Steven Back is Chief Operating Officer of Nuclein.  Prior to Nuclein, Mr. Back held leadership positions in Quality, Regulatory, Engineering and Manufacturing. During his 14 years at Luminex Corporation, he served as Head of Quality and Regulatory across five North American locations, overseeing Quality Management System enhancements, Regulatory Body audits, Product Submissions, Medical Device Report actions (Recalls), Supplier Quality, Production and Incoming Quality, Design Assurance, Documentation and product control and release. As VP of Manufacturing at Luminex, he led all aspects of instrument and reagent/assay cGMP compliant manufacturing, which included Incoming Quality, Quality Control, Supply Chain, Warehouse, Instrument Assembly and Reagent/Assay manufacturing. Prior to Luminex Corporation, Mr. Back worked at Abbott Laboratories, holding several leadership positions during his 18-year tenure, leading Engineering, Manufacturing and Quality organizations.  He Graduated with a BSSE from Wright State University, an MSEE from the University of Texas at Arlington, and an MBA from the University of Dallas.

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Charles Collins

Dr. Charles (Chuck) Collins is Chief Technology Officer of Nuclein. Dr. Collins was with Luminex Corporation for over 18 years, rising rapidly through the organization to Senior Vice President, Research & Development for more than three years and then Senior Vice President, Technology & Innovation for more than two years. Dr. Collins was responsible for all Research and Development activities across Luminex, including  Systems R&D, Assay R&D and Clinical Affairs, ATG, Chemistry R&D, and the PMO Group. Combined these groups spanned early Innovation, moving into formal Product Development, Clinical Trials, Design Transfer to Manufacturing, and on -market support of all products. Prior to Luminex Dr. Collins was an Electrical Engineer at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi, MD. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy from The University of Texas at Austin in Solid State Electronics and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Trinity University, San Antonio.

Huiping Zhu, PhD, Nuclein

Huiping Zhu, PhD

Dr. Huiping Zhu is Vice President of Assay Development of Nuclein. Prior to Nuclein, Dr. Zhu was Director of Assay R&D at Luminex Corporation, leading molecular diagnostic product development and design verification in support of 510(k) and IVDR submissions. During her career, Dr. Zhu has been awarded an NIH Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant, an R01 and an R21 research grant, and was a key contributor to multiple NIH and CDC research programs. Dr. Zhu has authored over 60 peer-reviewed scientific publications in the fields of molecular diagnostics, human genetics, and developmental biology. She graduated from Peking University Health Science Center with a Bachelor of Medicine (M.B.) degree, and subsequently earned her Ph.D. in Genetic & Molecular Epidemiology there as well.

Miranda Chavez, Nuclein

Miranda Chavez

Ms. Miranda Chavez is Director of Program & Project Management of Nuclein. Prior to Nuclein, Ms. Chavez held Program Management leadership roles at Pattern Bioscience and Luminex Corporation, leading design transfer, and go-to-market, initiatives at each company. She established Luminex’s first Field Quality Assurance department, leading global root-cause analysis, and product resolution efforts, for field-related issues. Ms. Chavez has led EUA, IVD and CE IVD efforts for more than 20 medical diagnostic products and is credited with a CLSI guideline for Newborn Screening Programs. She graduated from Saint Edward’s University with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry, pre-medical.

Michael Karberg, PhD, Nuclein

Michael Karberg, PhD

Dr. Michael Karberg is the Chief Scientist, and a founding team member, of Nuclein. In this role, he has been intimately involved in developing the company’s core technologies since its inception.  With decades of experience, Dr. Karberg has amassed an extensive background in nucleic acid assay development and optimization. In previous roles at Life Technologies and Thermo Fisher Scientific, he managed the research and development of animal health and food safety custom assays and products. He has developed over 100 assays, including those used to detect E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, type 2 porcine circovirus, and porcine respiratory coronavirus. Dr. Karberg graduated from Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Genetics and earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Molecular Biology from the University of Texas at Austin.

Jeffrey Stukuls, Nuclein

Jeffrey Stukuls

Mr. Jeffrey Stukuls is Chief Financial Officer of Nuclein. Mr. Stukuls has an accomplished background as a Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer in the technology development, online retail, and services industries. In addition to co-founding and selling his own businesses, including Medwing.com in 2010, his expertise has centered on raising substantial funding and scaling various businesses. Mr. Stukuls was CFO of TrackingPoint, a technology development company which raised over $80M and grew its first-year revenue to over $11M. Additionally, Mr. Stukuls led rapid-growth efforts at Stampede Consulting, which scaled from a team of 10 to over 1,000 people in its first year. He graduated from Bentley University with a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy and a minor in Computer Information Systems, as well as earned an Entrepreneurial Master’s Program Certificate from the MIT Extension School and the Entrepreneur’s Organization.

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Reid Sadler

Mr. Reid Sadler is Chief Commercial Officer of Nuclein. Mr. Sadler brings over 29 years of sales and marketing experience in the in-vitro diagnostics and biotechnology industries. Mr. Sadler’s executive leadership expertise covers general commercial development and management, business development, product marketing, strategic planning, sales team growth, go-to-market strategy, and customer support. His experience spans multiple diagnostic channels, including Molecular Diagnostics (Respiratory, Enteric, & Infectious Diseases), Point of Care (Infectious Diseases), Microbiology, Clinical Chemistry, Immunoassay (Infectious Diseases, Cardiac Markers, & Endocrinology), Blood Bank, Hematology, and Laboratory Services. Mr. Sadler’s extensive team development and leadership experiences include time spent at Roche Diagnostics, Immucor, Luminex and most recently, Binx Health. Mr. Sadler holds a B.A. degree with an emphasis in business administration and political science from the University of Pittsburgh and completed one year of full-time MBA courses at Lehigh University’s College of Business in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Jim Hully

Jim Hully, PhD

Dr. Jim Hully is Chief Scientific Officer of Nuclein. For the last two decades, he has worked in the IVD sector helping a diverse range of companies clear products through the FDA. Prior to Nuclein, Dr. Hully worked an independent consultant focused on FDA EUA COVID-19 assays, as well as at Nanosphere (now part of DiaSorin), where he led the R&D team developing highly multiplexed IVD assays for 510(k) clearance on the Verigene System. Dr. Hully previously worked at Intelligent MDx, where he patented robust methods for oligo designs resulting in multiple SBIR grants, as well as FDA EUA & 510(k) cleared assays. Dr. Hully’s experience also includes Applied Biosystems (now part of Thermo Fisher Scientific), where he was on the team that launched the novel In Situ PCR system. With post-doctoral work at Genentech and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Dr. Hully graduated from the University of North Wales, Bangor, with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology, and he earned a Master’s in Science & Doctor of Philosophy from the University of London in Pathology & Toxicology.

Ben Treece

Benjamin Treece

Mr. Benjamin Treece is the Vice President of Quality & Regulatory Affairs.  Mr. Treece has held Quality & Regulatory leadership positions in the In Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) industry.  Most recently serving as the VP of Quality & Regulatory Affairs for diagnostic start-up Veravas establishing the company’s QMS and as Director, Quality & Regulatory Affairs, for Everly Health responsible for the Everywell Direct To Consumer (DTC) testing portfolio.  Prior to these recent experiences, Mr. Treece had a 15-year tenure at Luminex holding positions of increasing responsibility in the Quality organization ending his Luminex tenure as Director of Quality.  As Director of Quality at Luminex, he oversaw all Quality aspects for the Austin based manufacturing operations that included IVD Instruments, IVD Assays and life science instrument & reagent product lines.  In addition, Mr. Treece had global responsibility for Design Assurance and Document Control teams.  Prior to Luminex, Mr. Treece began his medical device experience as a Quality Assurance Chemist with an orthopedic implant manufacturer that is now Zimmer-Biomet.  Throughout his medical device career, he has served as a Management Representative and was the point of contact for third-party audits, including FDA inspections.  He graduated with a BS in Chemistry from University of Texas Austin and an MBA from West Texas A&M.

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Jason McCabe

Mr. Jason McCabe is the Director of Manufacturing for Nuclein. Mr. McCabe has 30 years high tech manufacturing operations experience in the Semiconductor and Biomedical Device industries, holding various leadership positions in Manufacturing, Quality and Project Management. Mr. McCabe brings extensive experience in Manufacturing Operations, Contract Manufacturer management, Project Management, New Product Introduction, and Lean Manufacturing. Most recently, Mr. McCabe was Director of Operations at Ultra-Clean Technologies, having overall responsibility for product delivery, revenue, and quality. Mr. McCabe also led the ARIES Consumables manufacturing organization at Luminex, having responsibility for overall product delivery, quality, cGMP and FDA compliance, and led the Consumables Manufacturing organization through unprecedented growth. Prior to Luminex, Mr. McCabe had a 21-year tenure at Applied Materials, holding various leadership positions within the Dielectric Systems & Modules group spanning multiple regions. He graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science and Engineering from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas.

Nuclein’s leadership team has proven experience commercializing biotech, including expertise in system and assay research and development, regulatory, intellectual property, engineering and manufacturing.

Nuclein was founded in 2017 by experienced biotechnology entrepreneurs Alan Blake and Dr. Richard Crockett.

Alan Blake, Nuclein CEO

Alan Blake

Mr. Alan Blake is Chief Executive Officer of Nuclein. Prior to his involvement with Nuclein, Mr. Blake was a Co-Founder and CEO of Yorktown Technologies LP, which developed and marketed GloFish®, the world’s first widely commercialized biotech animal. Launched in 2003, GloFish subsequently grew to become the most visible consumer biotech product in the world, available in more than 7,000 retail locations, including Walmart, PetSmart and Petco. GloFish was sold to Spectrum Brands Inc. (NYSE: SPB) in 2017. Before GloFish, Mr. Blake founded and led ClassMap, a venture capitalist funded startup in the online learning space, managing the daily operations of 50 employees. Mr. Blake has also served as a Board Member for numerous companies and nonprofit organizations, including currently serving on the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business Advisory Council. He graduated with highest honors from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance and holds 25 patents.

Jeffrey Stukuls, Nuclein

Jeffrey Stukuls

Mr. Jeffrey Stukuls is Chief Financial Officer of Nuclein. Mr. Stukuls has an accomplished background as a Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer in the technology development, online retail, and services industries. In addition to co-founding and selling his own businesses, including Medwing.com in 2010, his expertise has centered on raising substantial funding and scaling various businesses. Mr. Stukuls was CFO of TrackingPoint, a technology development company which raised over $80M and grew its first-year revenue to over $11M. Additionally, Mr. Stukuls led rapid-growth efforts at Stampede Consulting, which scaled from a team of 10 to over 1,000 people in its first year. He graduated from Bentley University with a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy and a minor in Computer Information Systems, as well as earned an Entrepreneurial Master’s Program Certificate from the MIT Extension School and the Entrepreneur’s Organization.

Steven Back, Nuclein

Steven Back

Mr. Steven Back is Vice President of Quality and Regulatory Affairs of Nuclein.  Prior to Nuclein, Mr. Back held leadership positions in Quality, Regulatory, Engineering and Manufacturing. During his 14 years at Luminex Corporation, he served as Head of Quality and Regulatory across five North American locations, overseeing Quality Management System enhancements, Regulatory Body audits, Product Submissions, Medical Device Report actions (Recalls), Supplier Quality, Production and Incoming Quality, Design Assurance, Documentation and product control and release. As VP of Manufacturing at Luminex, he led all aspects of instrument and reagent/assay cGMP compliant manufacturing, which included Incoming Quality, Quality Control, Supply Chain, Warehouse, Instrument Assembly and Reagent/Assay manufacturing. Prior to Luminex Corporation, Mr. Back worked at Abbott Laboratories, holding several leadership positions during his 18-year tenure, leading Engineering, Manufacturing, and Quality organizations.  He Graduated with a BSSE from Wright State University, an MSEE from the University of Texas at Arlington, and an MBA from the University of Dallas.

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Reid Sadler

Mr. Reid Sadler is Chief Commercial Officer of Nuclein. Mr. Sadler brings over 29 years of sales and marketing experience in the in-vitro diagnostics and biotechnology industries. Mr. Sadler’s executive leadership expertise covers general commercial development and management, business development, product marketing, strategic planning, sales team growth, go-to-market strategy, and customer support. His experience spans multiple diagnostic channels, including Molecular Diagnostics (Respiratory, Enteric, & Infectious Diseases), Point of Care (Infectious Diseases), Microbiology, Clinical Chemistry, Immunoassay (Infectious Diseases, Cardiac Markers, & Endocrinology), Blood Bank, Hematology, and Laboratory Services. Mr. Sadler’s extensive team development and leadership experiences include time spent at Roche Diagnostics, Immucor, Luminex and most recently, Binx Health. Mr. Sadler holds a B.A. degree with an emphasis in business administration and political science from the University of Pittsburgh and completed one year of full-time MBA courses at Lehigh University’s College of Business in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

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Charles Collins

Dr. Charles (Chuck) Collins is Chief Technology Officer of Nuclein. Dr. Collins was with Luminex Corporation for over 18 years, rising rapidly through the organization to Senior Vice President, Research & Development for more than three years and then Senior Vice President, Technology & Innovation for more than two years. Dr. Collins was responsible for all Research and Development activities across Luminex, including Systems R&D, Assay R&D and Clinical Affairs, ATG, Chemistry R&D, and the PMO Group. Combined these groups spanned early Innovation, moving into formal Product Development, Clinical Trials, Design Transfer to Manufacturing, and on -market support of all products. Prior to Luminex Dr. Collins was an Electrical Engineer at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi, MD. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy from The University of Texas at Austin in Solid State Electronics and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Trinity University, San Antonio.

Jim Hully

Jim Hully, PhD

Dr. Jim Hully is Chief Scientific Officer of Nuclein. For the last two decades, he has worked in the IVD sector helping a diverse range of companies clear products through the FDA. Prior to Nuclein, Dr. Hully worked an independent consultant focused on FDA EUA COVID-19 assays, as well as at Nanosphere (now part of DiaSorin), where he led the R&D team developing highly multiplexed IVD assays for 510(k) clearance on the Verigene System. Dr. Hully previously worked at Intelligent MDx, where he patented robust methods for oligo designs resulting in multiple SBIR grants, as well as FDA EUA & 510(k) cleared assays. Dr. Hully’s experience also includes Applied Biosystems (now part of Thermo Fisher Scientific), where he was on the team that launched the novel In Situ PCR system. With post-doctoral work at Genentech and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Dr. Hully graduated from the University of North Wales, Bangor, with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology, and he earned a Master’s in Science & Doctor of Philosophy from the University of London in Pathology & Toxicology.

Huiping Zhu, PhD, Nuclein

Huiping Zhu, PhD

Dr. Huiping Zhu is Vice President, Development – Biology of Nuclein. Prior to Nuclein, Dr. Zhu was Director of Assay R&D at Luminex Cooperation, leading molecular diagnostic product development and design verification in support of 510(k) and IVDR submissions. During her career, Dr. Zhu has been awarded an NIH Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant, an R01 and an R21 research grant, and was a key contributor to multiple NIH and CDC research programs. Dr. Zhu has authored over 60 peer-reviewed scientific publications in the fields of molecular diagnostics, human genetics, and developmental biology. She graduated from Peking University Health Science Center with a Bachelor of Medicine (M.B.) degree, and subsequently earned her Ph.D. in Genetic & Molecular Epidemiology there as well.

Miranda Chavez, Nuclein

Miranda Chavez

Ms. Miranda Chavez is Associate Director of Program Management and Product Development of Nuclein. Prior to Nuclein, Ms. Chavez held Program Management leadership roles at Pattern Bioscience and Luminex Corporation, leading design transfer, and go-to-market, initiatives at each company. She established Luminex’s first Field Quality Assurance department, leading global root-cause analysis, and product resolution efforts, for field-related issues. Ms. Chavez has led EUA, IVD and CE IVD efforts for more than 20 medical diagnostic products and is credited with a CLSI guideline for Newborn Screening Programs. She graduated from Saint Edward’s University with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry, pre-medical.

Ben Treece

Benjamin Treece

Mr. Benjamin Treece is the Vice President of Quality & Regulatory Affairs.  Mr. Treece has held Quality & Regulatory leadership positions in the In Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) industry.  Most recently serving as the VP of Quality & Regulatory Affairs for diagnostic start-up Veravas establishing the company’s QMS and as Director, Quality & Regulatory Affairs, for Everly Health responsible for the Everywell Direct To Consumer (DTC) testing portfolio.  Prior to these recent experiences, Mr. Treece had a 15-year tenure at Luminex holding positions of increasing responsibility in the Quality organization ending his Luminex tenure as Director of Quality.  As Director of Quality at Luminex, he oversaw all Quality aspects for the Austin based manufacturing operations that included IVD Instruments, IVD Assays and life science instrument & reagent product lines.  In addition, Mr. Treece had global responsibility for Design Assurance and Document Control teams.  Prior to Luminex, Mr. Treece began his medical device experience as a Quality Assurance Chemist with an orthopedic implant manufacturer that is now Zimmer-Biomet.  Throughout his medical device career, he has served as a Management Representative and was the point of contact for third-party audits, including FDA inspections.  He graduated with a BS in Chemistry from University of Texas Austin and an MBA from West Texas A&M.

Michael Karberg, PhD, Nuclein

Michael Karberg, PhD

Dr. Michael Karberg is the Chief Scientist, and a founding team member, of Nuclein. In this role, he has been intimately involved in developing the company’s core technologies since its inception.  With decades of experience, Dr. Karberg has amassed an extensive background in nucleic acid assay development and optimization. In previous roles at Life Technologies and Thermo Fisher Scientific, he managed the research and development of animal health and food safety custom assays and products. He has developed over 100 assays, including those used to detect E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, type 2 porcine circovirus, and porcine respiratory coronavirus. Dr. Karberg graduated from Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Genetics and earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Molecular Biology from the University of Texas at Austin.

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Jason McCabe

Mr. Jason McCabe is the Director of Manufacturing for Nuclein. Mr. McCabe has 30 years high tech manufacturing operations experience in the Semiconductor and Biomedical Device industries, holding various leadership positions in Manufacturing, Quality and Project Management. Mr. McCabe brings extensive experience in Manufacturing Operations, Contract Manufacturer management, Project Management, New Product Introduction, and Lean Manufacturing. Most recently, Mr. McCabe was Director of Operations at Ultra-Clean Technologies, having overall responsibility for product delivery, revenue, and quality. Mr. McCabe also led the ARIES Consumables manufacturing organization at Luminex, having responsibility for overall product delivery, quality, cGMP and FDA compliance, and led the Consumables Manufacturing organization through unprecedented growth. Prior to Luminex, Mr. McCabe had a 21-year tenure at Applied Materials, holding various leadership positions within the Dielectric Systems & Modules group spanning multiple regions. He graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science and Engineering from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas.

Board of Directors

John Butler, PhD, Nuclein Board Member

Dr. John Butler

Dr. John Butler is the Director of the Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business. He is also a former Director of UT Austin’s IC2 Institute (2002-2013), which has produced more than 250 companies and helped them to collectively raise roughly $1 billion. In addition to serving on multiple other boards, Dr. Butler is a former Board Manager of GloFish LLC, the General Partner of Yorktown Technologies LP, and a noted author in the area of entrepreneurship. Among other career highlights, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to the J. William Fulbright Scholarship Board in 2006 and 2007. Dr. Butler holds a Bachelor of Arts from Louisiana State University and a doctorate in sociology from Northwestern University.

Richard Crockett, MD, Nuclein President

Richard Crockett, MD

Dr. Richard Crockett is a Co-Founder of Nuclein. Prior to Nuclein, Dr. Crockett was Co-Founder and President of Yorktown Technologies, leading the research, development, production, and regulatory efforts of the company, including the successful review of many FDA applications. Beyond Yorktown, Dr. Crockett is an experienced entrepreneur, who prior to co-founding Yorktown, co-founded ClassMap with Mr. Blake. He graduated from Yale University with an Intensive Bachelor of Science in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, later returning to Yale to earn his Medical Doctorate before surgical residency at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York. Dr. Crockett holds 21 patents and is published in several peer-reviewed journals.

H David Shockley, Jr, Nuclein Board Member

David Shockley, Jr.

H. David Shockley, Jr. is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Movair (formerly International Biophysics Corporation), a 30-year-old medical device development and manufacturing company based in Austin, Texas. He is also the Founder and Chairman of the Board of Organicare, a pharmaceutical drug developer and manufacturer in Austin. Mr. Shockley and IBC have developed many products over the past three decades, with several of these products becoming “spinoff” companies that were ultimately sold. In total, Mr. Shockley has been involved with the sale of more than $125 million in businesses that he started. He began his career in 1988 at Cardio Metrics, where he rose to President prior to its $3 million sale. In addition to serving as Chairman of Organicare, Mr. Shockley is currently serving as a Board Member for Safen Medical Devices, and he formerly served as a Director for numerous other health-related companies that were successfully sold. Mr. Shockley attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he received a Bachelor of Science in biology.

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Sanjay Chandra

Mr. Sanjay Chandra is a Principal at Trinity Investors, managing more than $6.5 billion in assets and serves its affiliated companies in a variety of roles and responsibilities. In addition, Mr. Chandra is a Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of American Leather, a former Board Manager of GloFish LLC, and a Board Member of numerous other companies. Mr. Chandra also serves as an Engineering Advisory Board Member for the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Chandra graduated with highest honors from UT Austin with a Bachelor of Science in electrical and computer engineering and is a CFA charterholder.

William Cunningham, PhD, Nuclein Board Chairman

Dr. William Cunningham

Dr. William Cunningham holds the James L. Bayless Chair in Free Enterprise at the University of Texas at Austin. He currently teaches corporate governance at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law and the McCombs School of Business. Dr. Cunningham previously served as President of UT Austin (1985-1992) and Chancellor of the University of Texas System (1992-2000). In addition to serving on many public commissions and nonprofit boards, he has been a Board Member of numerous public companies, including currently serving as Chairman of the Board of Lincoln Financial Group (NYSE: LNC), Lead Director for Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV), and the John Hancock Mutual Funds Board. He has also previously served on the boards of more than a dozen other public and private companies, including as Chairman of the Board of GloFish LLC. His many honors include a Distinguished Alumnus Award from Michigan State University, from which he also received an honorary law degree and the Distinguished Service Award from UT Austin. Dr. Cunningham received a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1966, a Master of Business Administration in 1967, and a doctorate in 1971, each from Michigan State University.

Walter Narajowski, Nuclein Board Member

Walter Narajowski

Walter M. Narajowski served as Chief Operating Officer of Minute Molecular since November, 2020 until the 2023 merger with Nuclein, LLC, where he now serves as a member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Narajowski continues to serve as Partner, LabDx a bio-tech consulting company since 2015.  Mr. Narajowski has over 25 years of senior level Medical device and In-Vitro Diagnostic industry experience.  Serving as Board member MDXHealth (MDX:EURONEXT) 2014 – 2019. Sr. Vice President & General Manager for Roka BioScience (ROKA:NASDAQ) from 2009 – 2015.  President/C.E.O. and Board Member of Pathway Diagnostics a biomarker development and testing company sold to Quest Diagnostics in 2008.  Vice President & General Manger of Focus Diagnostics, an Infectious Disease Reference Laboratory and IVD company.  Mr. Narajowski spent over 20 years with Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in various positions of increasing responsibility vice president and general manager critical care products, general manager of physician office diagnostics and director of research and development with Abbott Diagnostics.  Mr. Narajowski received his M.S. in bioengineering from the University of Utah, and his B.S. in electrical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Nuclein’s board of directors has decades of experience leading diverse organizations including technology, research, academics, and medical device manufacturing.

Nuclein’s board of directors has decades of experience leading diverse organizations including technology, research, academics, and medical device manufacturing.

John Butler, PhD, Nuclein Board Member

Dr. John Butler

Dr. John Butler is the Director of the Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business. He is also a former Director of UT Austin’s IC2 Institute (2002-2013), which has produced more than 250 companies and helped them to collectively raise roughly $1 billion. In addition to serving on multiple other boards, Dr. Butler is a former Board Manager of GloFish LLC, the General Partner of Yorktown Technologies LP, and a noted author in the area of entrepreneurship. Among other career highlights, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to the J. William Fulbright Scholarship Board in 2006 and 2007. Dr. Butler holds a Bachelor of Arts from Louisiana State University and a doctorate in sociology from Northwestern University.

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Sanjay Chandra

Mr. Sanjay Chandra is a Principal at Trinity Investors, managing more than $6.5 billion in assets and serves its affiliated companies in a variety of roles and responsibilities. In addition, Mr. Chandra is a Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of American Leather, a former Board Manager of GloFish LLC, and a Board Member of numerous other companies. Mr. Chandra also serves as an Engineering Advisory Board Member for the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Chandra graduated with highest honors from UT Austin with a Bachelor of Science in electrical and computer engineering and is a CFA charterholder.

Richard Crockett, MD, Nuclein President

Richard Crockett, MD

Dr. Richard Crockett is a Co-Founder of Nuclein. Prior to Nuclein, Dr. Crockett was Co-Founder and President of Yorktown Technologies LP, leading the research, development, production and regulatory efforts of the company, including the successful review of multiple FDA applications. Beyond Yorktown, Dr. Crockett is an experienced entrepreneur, who prior to co-founding Yorktown Technologies, co-founded ClassMap with Mr. Blake. He graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Science in molecular, cellular and developmental biology, later returning to Yale to earn his medical doctorate before surgical residency at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York. Dr. Crockett holds 22 patents and is published in several peer-reviewed journals.

William Cunningham, PhD, Nuclein Board Chairman

Dr. William Cunningham

Dr. William Cunningham holds the James L. Bayless Chair in Free Enterprise at the University of Texas at Austin. He currently teaches corporate governance at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law and the McCombs School of Business. Dr. Cunningham previously served as President of UT Austin (1985-1992) and Chancellor of the University of Texas System (1992-2000). In addition to serving on many public commissions and nonprofit boards, he has been a Board Member of numerous public companies, including currently serving as Chairman of the Board of Lincoln Financial Group (NYSE: LNC), Lead Director for Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV), and the John Hancock Mutual Funds Board. He has also previously served on the boards of more than a dozen other public and private companies, including as Chairman of the Board of GloFish LLC. His many honors include a Distinguished Alumnus Award from Michigan State University, from which he also received an honorary law degree and the Distinguished Service Award from UT Austin. Dr. Cunningham received a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1966, a Master of Business Administration in 1967, and a doctorate in 1971, each from Michigan State University.

H David Shockley, Jr, Nuclein Board Member

David Shockley, Jr.

H. David Shockley, Jr. is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Movair (formerly International Biophysics Corporation), a 30-year-old medical device development and manufacturing company based in Austin, Texas. He is also the Founder and Chairman of the Board of Organicare, a pharmaceutical drug developer and manufacturer in Austin. Mr. Shockley and IBC have developed many products over the past three decades, with several of these products becoming “spinoff” companies that were ultimately sold. In total, Mr. Shockley has been involved with the sale of more than $125 million in businesses that he started. He began his career in 1988 at Cardio Metrics, where he rose to President prior to its $3 million sale. In addition to serving as Chairman of Organicare, Mr. Shockley is currently serving as a Board Member for Safen Medical Devices, and he formerly served as a Director for numerous other health-related companies that were successfully sold. Mr. Shockley attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he received a Bachelor of Science in biology.

Walter Narajowski, Nuclein Board Member

Walter Narajowski

Walter M. Narajowski served as Chief Operating Officer of Minute Molecular since November, 2020 until the 2023 merger with Nuclein, LLC, where he now serves as a member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Narajowski continues to serve as Partner, LabDx a bio-tech consulting company since 2015.  Mr. Narajowski has over 25 years of senior level Medical device and In-Vitro Diagnostic industry experience.  Serving as Board member MDXHealth (MDX:EURONEXT) 2014 – 2019. Sr. Vice President & General Manager for Roka BioScience (ROKA:NASDAQ) from 2009 – 2015.  President/C.E.O. and Board Member of Pathway Diagnostics a biomarker development and testing company sold to Quest Diagnostics in 2008.  Vice President & General Manger of Focus Diagnostics, an Infectious Disease Reference Laboratory and IVD company.  Mr. Narajowski spent over 20 years with Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in various positions of increasing responsibility vice president and general manager critical care products, general manager of physician office diagnostics and director of research and development with Abbott Diagnostics.  Mr. Narajowski received his M.S. in bioengineering from the University of Utah, and his B.S. in electrical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Advisory Board

David Kelso, PhD, Nuclein Advisor

David Kelso

David Kelso, PhD, serves on the Advisory Board. Dr. Kelso also serves as a Clinical Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern University. Dr. Kelso has been involved in assay system development for more than 25 years. In 2006, Dr. Kelso’s CIGHT was selected as one of the 43 recipients of the Grand Challenges in Global Health grants awarded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Before joining Northwestern, Professor Kelso developed several medical devices for the healthcare industry. He was Chief Scientist at Baxter Healthcare’s Pandex Division from 1986 to 1992 and directed the team of engineers and scientists that developed a high-throughput, multi-channel blood screening system which detected HIV, hepatitis and other infectious diseases. In 1981, Professor Kelso founded Pandex Laboratories and served as its president until 1986, when it was acquired by Baxter. The company developed, manufactured and sold analytical systems for biomedical research, which included instruments and reagents for performing fluorescence immunoassays, cellular analysis and other research procedures. Prior to his biotech venture, Professor Kelso was a cofounder of an intrapreneurial group at Abbott Laboratories which developed the TDx system and created the company’s therapeutic drug monitoring business. At Abbott, he also developed the first microprocessor-controlled enzyme immunoassay analyzer, Quantum, leading the industry away from radioactive assays.
David V. Milligan, PhD, Nuclein Advisor

David Milligan

David V. Milligan, PhD, serves on the Advisory Board. Dr. Milligan is a graduate of Princeton University and earned MS and PhD degrees in Chemistry from the University of Illinois. Dr. Milligan began his career with 3M Company and subsequently joined Abbott Laboratories, where he held a number of R&D and business management positions. He retired in 1996 as Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Milligan then joined Bay City Capital, a San Francisco life sciences investment firm, where he is now an advisor. He has served as a director of a substantial number of early stage companies including Reliant, Vicuron and Icos Pharmaceuticals, as well as Caliper Diagnostics, all of which achieved successful exits via acquisition by major companies. In addition to being Chairman and co-founder of Xoult and Ekatra, Dr. Milligan is currently a director of Inspirotec, an early stage private company, as well as Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, which is public (MDGL).

Robin Robinson, PhD, Nuclein Advisor

Robin Robinson

Robin Robinson, PhD, serves on the Advisory Board. He also currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer for RenovaCare, Inc. From 2008 – 2016, Dr. Robinson served as the first director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and as BARDA’s Influenza and Emerging Disease program director (2004-2008). Prior to federal public service, Dr. Robinson served as the Director of Vaccines at Novavax, Inc. (Rockville, MD) from 1995-2004, where he led the development of 20+ vaccines to hepatitis B and E, influenza, HIV, noroviruses and human papilloma viruses from early development, clinical trials, manufacturing scale-up, and commercialization through FDA licensure. Dr. Robinson was a faculty member in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School from 1983-1992 on the molecular pathogenesis of herpesviruses and HIV. He received a BS in Biology from Millsaps College in 1976 and a PhD in 1981 from the University of Mississippi Medical School in medical microbiology.
Jack Schuler, Nuclein Advisor

Jack Schuler

Jack Schuler serves on the Advisory Board. He also has served as a Director of Biodesix since June 2008. Mr. Schuler served as a director of Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. from 1991 and as Chairman of the board from 1995 until Ventana’s acquisition by Roche in 2008. Prior to joining Ventana, Mr. Schuler was President and Chief Operating Officer of Abbott Laboratories, a diversified health care company, which he joined in 1972 and where he held a number of management and marketing positions, also serving as a director from April 1985 to August 1989. Additionally, Mr. Schuler has served as a director of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT), Medtronic (Lead Director) (NYSE: MDT), Stericyle (Chairman) (NASDAQ: SRCL), Chiron Corporation, and Quidel Corporation (NASDAQ: QDEL), and currently serves on the board of directors of Accelerate Diagnostics (NASDAQ: AXDX). Mr. Schuler holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University and an M.B.A. from Stanford University Graduate School of Business Administration.
Sally Mcfall

Sally McFall

Sally McFall, Ph.D. serves as the Deputy Director of the Administrative Core and Director of the Technology Development/Refinement Core C-THAN. C-THAN was established in 2018 as part of the Point-of-Care Technologies Research Network created by National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. Dr. McFall has extensive experience in technology development for low and middle income countries as the Director of Research of the Center for Innovation in Global Health Technologies (CIGHT) in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University. She possesses a broad background in molecular and clinical microbiology and has co-developed point-of-care assays and instruments side by side with CIGHT’s engineering team. She is also one of the co-founders and prior Chief Scientific Officer of Minute Molecular Diagnostics, Inc.

Alan Richey, Nuclein Advisor

Alan Richey

Mr. Alan Richey currently serves as Senior Vice President for Dell Technologies where he leads Dell’s Global Products, Operations and Solutions Legal teams. Mr. Richey brings to the Advisory Board a broad network and expertise in intellectual property support, supply chain strategy and management, international distribution, manufacturing, regulatory, trade compliance and logistics.  Prior to joining Dell, Mr. Richey was Associate General Counsel for Micron Technology where he was responsible for providing support for Micron’s global manufacturing and product organizations.  He also served as an associate for Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where his practice focused on business litigation and commercial matters.  Mr. Richey earned a JD and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Houston, an MBA from Southwestern Oklahoma State University, and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Cameron University.  In addition to his law license, Mr. Richey is a certified public accountant and serves on various commercial and not-for-profit boards. 

William J. Rutter, PhD, Nuclein Advisor

William Rutter

William J. Rutter, PhD, serves on the Advisory Board. Dr. Rutter is also the Founder and Chairman and CEO of Synergenics, LLC, which controls a consortium of companies with different but complementary approaches to diagnosis, prevention and treatment on a worldwide basis. Previously, Dr. Rutter was co-founder and chairman of Chiron Corporation, a major biotechnology company which is well known for the development of recombinant DNA-based vaccines, including Hepatitis B, and for the discovery of Hepatitis C, the first sequencing of the HIV-AIDS virus. Chiron pioneered the development of quantitative DNA-based diagnostic tests measuring viral load, which has played a major role in protecting the blood supply, and also in developing drugs for treatment of these diseases. Chiron was acquired in two stages by Novartis and its antecedent company Ciga-Geigy. Dr. Rutter has served on the boards of Novartis and several Biotech companies, including Cytokinetics, Sangamo Biosciences, and Synergenics companies. Dr. Rutter is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Rutter has published 381 scientific articles and holds 26 patents and patent applications. Previously, Dr. Rutter served as Chairman of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at UCSF. His lab made key contributions to biotechnology and recombinant DNA technology, including cloning of the human insulin gene and the production in yeast of a virus-like particle for Hepatitis B, which was eventually used in the manufacture of a Hepatitis B vaccine.

The Nuclein advisory board provides expertise in fields including biotechnology, regulatory, fast-growth enterprises, marketing, and communications.

The Nuclein advisory board provides expertise in fields including biotechnology, regulatory, fast-growth enterprises, marketing, and communications.

David Kelso, PhD, Nuclein Advisor

David Kelso

David Kelso, PhD, serves on the Advisory Board. Dr. Kelso also serves as a Clinical Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern University. Dr. Kelso has been involved in assay system development for more than 25 years. In 2006, Dr. Kelso’s CIGHT was selected as one of the 43 recipients of the Grand Challenges in Global Health grants awarded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Before joining Northwestern, Professor Kelso developed several medical devices for the healthcare industry. He was Chief Scientist at Baxter Healthcare’s Pandex Division from 1986 to 1992 and directed the team of engineers and scientists that developed a high-throughput, multi-channel blood screening system which detected HIV, hepatitis and other infectious diseases. In 1981, Professor Kelso founded Pandex Laboratories and served as its president until 1986, when it was acquired by Baxter. The company developed, manufactured and sold analytical systems for biomedical research, which included instruments and reagents for performing fluorescence immunoassays, cellular analysis and other research procedures. Prior to his biotech venture, Professor Kelso was a cofounder of an intrapreneurial group at Abbott Laboratories which developed the TDx system and created the company’s therapeutic drug monitoring business. At Abbott, he also developed the first microprocessor-controlled enzyme immunoassay analyzer, Quantum, leading the industry away from radioactive assays.
Sally Mcfall

Sally McFall

Sally McFall, Ph.D. serves as the Deputy Director of the Administrative Core and Director of the Technology Development/Refinement Core C-THAN. C-THAN was established in 2018 as part of the Point-of-Care Technologies Research Network created by National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. Dr. McFall has extensive experience in technology development for low and middle income countries as the Director of Research of the Center for Innovation in Global Health Technologies (CIGHT) in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University. She possesses a broad background in molecular and clinical microbiology and has co-developed point-of-care assays and instruments side by side with CIGHT’s engineering team. She is also one of the co-founders and prior Chief Scientific Officer of Minute Molecular Diagnostics, Inc.

David V. Milligan, PhD, Nuclein Advisor

David Milligan

David V. Milligan, PhD, serves on the Advisory Board. Dr. Milligan is a graduate of Princeton University and earned MS and PhD degrees in Chemistry from the University of Illinois. Dr. Milligan began his career with 3M Company and subsequently joined Abbott Laboratories, where he held a number of R&D and business management positions. He retired in 1996 as Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Milligan then joined Bay City Capital, a San Francisco life sciences investment firm, where he is now an advisor. He has served as a director of a substantial number of early stage companies including Reliant, Vicuron and Icos Pharmaceuticals, as well as Caliper Diagnostics, all of which achieved successful exits via acquisition by major companies. In addition to being Chairman and co-founder of Xoult and Ekatra, Dr. Milligan is currently a director of Inspirotec, an early stage private company, as well as Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, which is public (MDGL).

Alan Richey, Nuclein Advisor

Alan Richey

Mr. Alan Richey currently serves as Senior Vice President for Dell Technologies where he leads Dell’s Global Products, Operations and Solutions Legal teams. Mr. Richey brings to the Advisory Board a broad network and expertise in intellectual property support, supply chain strategy and management, international distribution, manufacturing, regulatory, trade compliance and logistics.  Prior to joining Dell, Mr. Richey was Associate General Counsel for Micron Technology where he was responsible for providing support for Micron’s global manufacturing and product organizations.  He also served as an associate for Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where his practice focused on business litigation and commercial matters.  Mr. Richey earned a JD and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Houston, an MBA from Southwestern Oklahoma State University, and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Cameron University.  In addition to his law license, Mr. Richey is a certified public accountant and serves on various commercial and not-for-profit boards. 

Robin Robinson, PhD, Nuclein Advisor

Robin Robinson

Robin Robinson, PhD, serves on the Advisory Board. He also currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer for RenovaCare, Inc. From 2008 – 2016, Dr. Robinson served as the first director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and as BARDA’s Influenza and Emerging Disease program director (2004-2008). Prior to federal public service, Dr. Robinson served as the Director of Vaccines at Novavax, Inc. (Rockville, MD) from 1995-2004, where he led the development of 20+ vaccines to hepatitis B and E, influenza, HIV, noroviruses and human papilloma viruses from early development, clinical trials, manufacturing scale-up, and commercialization through FDA licensure. Dr. Robinson was a faculty member in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School from 1983-1992 on the molecular pathogenesis of herpesviruses and HIV. He received a BS in Biology from Millsaps College in 1976 and a PhD in 1981 from the University of Mississippi Medical School in medical microbiology.
William J. Rutter, PhD, Nuclein Advisor

William Rutter

William J. Rutter, PhD, serves on the Advisory Board. Dr. Rutter is also the Founder and Chairman and CEO of Synergenics, LLC, which controls a consortium of companies with different but complementary approaches to diagnosis, prevention and treatment on a worldwide basis. Previously, Dr. Rutter was co-founder and chairman of Chiron Corporation, a major biotechnology company which is well known for the development of recombinant DNA-based vaccines, including Hepatitis B, and for the discovery of Hepatitis C, the first sequencing of the HIV-AIDS virus. Chiron pioneered the development of quantitative DNA-based diagnostic tests measuring viral load, which has played a major role in protecting the blood supply, and also in developing drugs for treatment of these diseases. Chiron was acquired in two stages by Novartis and its antecedent company Ciga-Geigy. Dr. Rutter has served on the boards of Novartis and several Biotech companies, including Cytokinetics, Sangamo Biosciences, and Synergenics companies. Dr. Rutter is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Rutter has published 381 scientific articles and holds 26 patents and patent applications. Previously, Dr. Rutter served as Chairman of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at UCSF. His lab made key contributions to biotechnology and recombinant DNA technology, including cloning of the human insulin gene and the production in yeast of a virus-like particle for Hepatitis B, which was eventually used in the manufacture of a Hepatitis B vaccine.
Jack Schuler, Nuclein Advisor

Jack Schuler

Jack Schuler serves on the Advisory Board. He also has served as a Director of Biodesix since June 2008. Mr. Schuler served as a director of Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. from 1991 and as Chairman of the board from 1995 until Ventana’s acquisition by Roche in 2008. Prior to joining Ventana, Mr. Schuler was President and Chief Operating Officer of Abbott Laboratories, a diversified health care company, which he joined in 1972 and where he held a number of management and marketing positions, also serving as a director from April 1985 to August 1989. Additionally, Mr. Schuler has served as a director of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT), Medtronic (Lead Director) (NYSE: MDT), Stericyle (Chairman) (NASDAQ: SRCL), Chiron Corporation, and Quidel Corporation (NASDAQ: QDEL), and currently serves on the board of directors of Accelerate Diagnostics (NASDAQ: AXDX). Mr. Schuler holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University and an M.B.A. from Stanford University Graduate School of Business Administration.