Many types of expertise, levels of education, and areas of science are represented at Cerilliant. There are a number of PhDs on the Cerilliant staff—which is rare in most companies—and because the expertise of our scientists is so deep, Cerilliant can apply best practices in one area to others. For instance, pharmaceutical stability and process control to forensics; environmental residual solvents to pharma; and forensic quality to environmental.

The company’s high levels of knowledge and proficiency have enabled Cerilliant to consistently eclipse all competitors when it comes to controlling quality from start to finish—from analysis, to development, to production, to quality control, to customer support. The company’s Certificate of Analysis is one of the most comprehensive in the industry. But it is more than just process or products that has cemented Cerilliant’s reputation for excellence. The company’s team of scientists is also known for its innovative thinking and collaborative relationship with customers, as well as with each other.

Cerilliant scientists readily collaborate and problem solve on a variety of projects. To further encourage this, Cerilliant formally organized its Senior Technical Team, led by Dr. Uma Sreenivasan, Chief Science Advisor and Manager of Synthesis Operations, as a cross-functional group to share ideas between disciplines. Collectively, this remarkable group of specialists is charged with the development, design, improvement, and implementation of Cerilliant programs and procedures. They are also responsible for the review of new product designs and for resolving challenging technical issues that might arise during the course of production when resolution is not readily or easily achieved within the laboratory alone.

Meet some of our technical team below.

Uma Sreenivasan, Ph.D. - Chief Science Advisor / Manager, Synthesis Operations
Senior Technical Team
Ms. Sreenivasan has over 15 years of experience in the fields of computer modeling of proteins, structural analysis of small molecules by NMR, peptide chemistry, and drug design and synthesis. She has worked in biomedical research and academic settings and has synthetic and analytical chemistry experience, project design and management, and process development experience. Uma came to Cerilliant after post-doctoral work in bio-organic, peptide and medicinal chemistry at the Mayo Clinic and the University of Texas, Austin. Uma began her career at Cerilliant in 2000 as a synthesis chemist. She was promoted to Manager of Synthesis Operations in 2003. She served as interim Manager of the Quality Control Operation for a period of eight months in 2005/2006. She was named Chief Science Advisor in April 2006 and heads Cerilliant's Senior Technical Team. Uma has a PhD in medicinal chemistry from the University of Minnesota and an undergraduate degree in pharmacy from S.N.D.T. University, Mumbai, India.

H. Kenan Yaser - Synthesis Operations
Senior Technical Team
Mr. Yaser has over 16 years of experience in the field of organic synthesis. He has worked in academic research settings and has project design and management, and process development experience. Kenan came to Cerilliant in 1990 as a Synthesis Chemist after graduate work in asymmetric synthesis. He was promoted to Product Manager for forensic standards in 1994, Synthesis Operations Manager in 1998 and to Technical Director in 2001. Upon recognizing that his true passion was working in the lab, in 2003 Mr. Yaser persuaded management to allow him to return to the synthesis lab as a Senior Chemist. He has since served as Interim Manager of Synthesis Operations for an 8 month stint during 2005/2006. Throughout his tenure at Cerilliant, Kenan has participated in the synthesis of a broad array of Cerilliant products, both catalog and custom, and has made many significant contributions in the areas of product and process development and in the implementation of new technologies. Kenan has a Master’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin and an undergraduate degree in chemistry from Rice University, Houston, Texas where he also engaged in post graduate work related to drug development.

Martha Liu, Ph.D. – Synthesis Operations
Senior Technical Team
Dr. Liu is a veteran Synthesis Chemist with a strong background in organic and polymer synthesis and analytical techniques for the characterization of small molecules and macromolecules. Dr. Liu began her career overseeing an academic chemistry research group and teaching Organic Chemistry and Synthetic Design to chemistry major undergraduates for seven years. After she immigrated to the United States in the early 90’s to pursue a Ph.D., Martha continued her career as a Research Assistant at the University of Texas, Arlington. Prior to completing her Ph.D., she interned with Merck & Company where she focused on process development and support for the manufacture of pharmaceutical actives and intermediates in the Technical Operations Department. Dr. Liu joined Cerilliant in 2000 after postdoctoral work at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. Dr. Liu has successfully developed and synthesized many difficult compounds for Cerilliant’s pharmaceutical customers and catalog products and has made many significant contributions in the areas of new product and process development and participates in the technical review of new projects. Dr. Liu has published eight papers and made several presentations to national conferences and professional groups. Dr. Liu holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and a Masters Degree in Synthetic Organic Chemistry from universities in China and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Texas, Arlington, Texas.

Greg Kirkovits, Ph.D. – Synthesis Operations
Senior Technical Team
Dr. Kirkovits joined Cerilliant in May 2002 as a Synthesis Chemist after post-doctoral work in supramolecular chemistry in the research laboratories of Professor Jonathan L. Sessler at the University of Texas at Austin. Greg obtained his undergraduate degree and Ph.D. at King’s College London, England. His doctoral research in the area of supramolecular chemistry focused on the synthesis, characterization and study of artificial ion channels. As part of his undergraduate degree he also spent a year working as an NMR spectroscopist in the analytical laboratories of SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals in Welwyn Garden City, England. Greg’s primary responsibilities include the production of native and ¹³C labeled chlorinated and brominated dioxins and furans, and ¹³C labeled PAHs, in addition to custom synthesis, catalog support, and product design.

Ning Chang, Ph.D. – Quality Control Operations
Senior Technical Team
Ning Chang joined Cerilliant in 2001. Dr. Chang is the Lead Chemist in the analytical laboratory with expertise in GC, GC/MS, HPLC, LC/MS and Karl-Fischer applications. Her experience includes method development, validation of analytical methods and project management. She has extensive and practical knowledge in GC and GC/MS instrumentation and application of these techniques to environmental and forensic standards, chemical weapons, and pharmaceutical reference standards. Dr. Chang has over 10 years of experience in X-ray crystallography for the structural determination of proteins and small molecules, powder diffraction applications, and crystal engineering. She has numerous publications resulting from her research at the University of Texas at Austin. She received her Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.S. in chemistry from the National Taiwan University, in Taipei, Taiwan.

Isil Dilek, Ph.D. – Manager, Quality Control Operations
Senior Technical Team
Dr. Dilek, a native of Turkey, received her MS and Ph.D. degrees at Carnegie Mellon University, studying molecular recognition in nucleic acid and supramolecular chemistries. For her graduate work, she developed methods to purify and characterize synthetic nucleic acid analogs using chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. Isil then joined the Medicinal Chemistry Division of the University of Texas at Austin as a postdoctoral research fellow to work on the synthesis of drug candidates as inhibitors of ricin and shiga toxins. Dr. Dilek joined Cerilliant in 2004 as an analytical chemist. She has worked with HPLC, LCMS, FT-IR and NMR techniques. In 2008, Ms. Dilek was promoted to Manager of the Quality Control Laboratory. Prior to that, Dr. Dilek’s primary focus at Cerilliant was analytical method development utilizing HPLC, UV spectroscopy and LC-MS and review of test specifications, methods, custom projects, stability testing, and development of new technologies.

Art Zisman – Standards Manufacturing Operations
Senior Technical Team
Mr. Zisman began his career with Radian International in 1988 in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Division as Senior Research Assistant conducting bioavailability studies and analysis of biological samples. He later transferred to the Specialty Chemicals division where he was charged with preparing samples for the analysis of wastewater, soil, marine life, and ocean water. He joined Radian’s Analytical Reference Materials division in 1994 and has since served in a variety of production roles with increasing responsibility. Mr. Zisman is currently in charge of scheduling and overseeing production of all Cerilliant’s solution standards. Throughout his tenure at Cerilliant Mr. Zisman has played a key role in the design, development and production virtually all of Cerilliant’s 2000+ catalog products. Art’s extensive knowledge and understanding of Cerilliant’s products and techniques as well as his consistent commitment to excellence are critical to ensuring the technical integrity of our Products.

Peech S. Reddy, Ph.D. - Synthesis Operations
Dr. Reddy joined Cerilliant in 2002 as a Synthesis Chemist. Dr. Reddy has successfully designed and synthesized several challenging compounds for Cerilliant's customers and catalog products and has made many significant contributions in the areas of new product and process development. Dr. Reddy has over 20 years of experience in the field of synthetic organic chemistry and medicinal chemistry in academic and industrial settings. Dr. Reddy has two U.S. Patents and published fifteen papers and made several presentations to national conferences. Peech obtained his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India, where he worked on new methods development and synthesis of biologically active compounds. Dr. Reddy trained in the field of synthetic organic chemistry and medicinal chemistry as Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Texas, and at State University of New York at Buffalo, New York.

Huahua Jian, Ph.D. - Synthesis Operations
Dr. Jian obtained her Ph.D. from Rice University, Houston, Texas, M.S. from Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, and B.S. in Chemistry from Nankai University, Tianjin, China. Dr. Jian has numerous publications and patents resulting from her past research in multi-step organic synthesis and combinatorial chemistry. Since joining Cerilliant in 2004 as a Synthesis Chemist, she has participated in many custom synthesis projects and process development for large scale cGMP production. Dr. Jian became a member of Cerilliant's Quality Control team in 2008. Her current responsibilities include analytical method development, project review, and analytical method validation. Dr. Jian is also involved in custom synthesis and custom analysis proposals, new project implementation, and product design.

Alex Wong, Ph.D. - Synthesis Operations
Dr. Wong joined Cerilliant in 2003 as a Synthesis Chemist after postdoctoral research in mechanistic enzymology at the University of Texas at Austin. Alex obtained his B.Sc. in biochemistry at the University of Waterloo, Canada, during which time he worked as both biologist and chemist at several different companies. He went on to obtain his Ph.D. in organic chemistry at the University of British Columbia, Canada, where he studied the mechanism of carbohydrate processing enzymes through the synthesis and use of carbohydrate analogs. During his tenure at Cerilliant, Alex has participated in the synthesis of numerous Cerilliant products, both catalog and custom. He has also participated in product design, development of new technologies and the training of junior chemists.

Yunming Ying, Ph.D. - Synthesis Operations
Dr. Ying joined Cerilliant in 2008 as a Synthesis Chemst. Prior to joining Cerilliant, he worked in MD Anderson Cancer Center as a Research Scientist focusing on design and synthesis of new kinase inhibitors and PET imaging reagents. Dr. Ying has extensive experience in the field of synthetic organic chemistry and medicinal chemistry, from complex multi-step stereoselective synthesis to preparation of small pharmaceutical molecules. He has over 20 publications including 4 U.S. Patents. Dr. Ying received his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Chinese Academy of Sciences, and his B.S. from University of Science and Technology of China. He did his postdoctoral research at Rice University, Houston, TX.

Elizabeth B. Marek, Ph.D. - Synthesis Operations
Dr. Marek Joined Cerilliant as a Synthesis Chemist in 2007. Beth obtained her PhD in organic chemistry from Georgia Institute of Technology. Her doctoral research in the area of molecular recognition involved the synthesis and study of host/guest complexes for drug delivery and catalysis. She went on to a postdoctoral fellowship with Prof. Paul Wender at Stanford University were she was involved in the total synthesis of natural products. Prior to joining Cerilliant, she worked as a medicinal chemist at Genelabs Technologies where she designed and synthesized small molecules for the treatment of HCV. Beth has participated in the synthesis of numerous Cerilliant products, both catalog and custom.

Derrell Johnson – New Product Development Manager/Technical Liaison
Mr. Johnson joined Cerilliant in December, 1999, as a Synthesis Chemist after graduate work in organic synthesis and asymmetric amplification. As a Synthesis Chemist, Derrell’s primary responsibilities involved the production of numerous catalog and custom products including projects under strict cGMP protocols. His experience also includes process R&D and development in both small-scale and large-scale applications. In 2005, Derrell accepted an opportunity to work as an analytical chemist in the Quality Control Laboratory. His responsibilities included finished product and stability testing, data review, and writing and validation of analytical methods. Derrell served as the primary NMR spectroscopist and also worked with FT-IR, HPLC, and Auto-Titrator techniques. In 2008 Derrell was promoted to his current position. In his current role, Derrell is the primary technical contact with Cerilliant customers and is responsible for selecting and initiating new products into Cerilliant’s catalog offering. Derrell received his Master’s degree in organic chemistry from Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, and his undergraduate degree in chemistry from Texas Lutheran University, Seguin, Texas.

Kara Jagger - Quality Control Operations
Ms, Jagger is the primary quality control chemist working with Cerilliant’s subsidiary company, Austin Pharma LLC, in the testing of its active pharmaceutical ingredient. As such, Ms. Jagger brings a sound working knowledge and application of cGMP requirements to the production and testing of Cerilliant products and custom projects for Cerilliant clients. Ms. Jagger’s responsibilities include writing, reviewing, and executing analytical method validation protocols and summaries and stability protocols for Cerilliant, Austin Pharma, and other Cerilliant clients. Prior to joining Cerilliant in April of 2005, Ms Jagger was with Hospira, a leading manufacturer of intravenous pharmaceuticals, where she was a Quality Control Chemist. She was responsible for the testing of in-process samples and release testing of finished product in accordance with cGMP and FDA requirements. Ms. Jagger’s career in the pharmaceutical industry began at ALK-Abelló, Inc, a manufacturer of pharmaceuticals for specific allergy vaccination, where she was a Quality Control Chemist. She was responsible for coordinating all final product release testing and stability testing in accordance with cGMP, FDA, and USDA requirements. Ms Jagger received a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Chemistry from Wesleyan College.

Lara Sparks - Director, Quality Assurance
Ms. Sparks is responsible for managing, directing, and improving Cerilliant's quality management system and ensuring compliance with applicable cGMP and ISO 9001:2000 standards. Ms. Sparks has eight years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and has worked in a variety of quality positions. Ms. Sparks' career in the pharmaceutical industry began at ALK-Abello, Inc, a leading producer of pharmaceuticals for specific allergy vaccination, where she served Quality Control Chemistry Technician then Quality Control Chemistry Supervisor. In her roles at ALK-Abello she was responsible for coordinating all final product release testing and stability testing in accordance with cGMP, FDA and USDA requirements. Ms. Sparks joined Cerilliant in 2002. She received a BS in Chemistry from the University of Arizona.

MANAGEMENT TEAM

Sherri Pogue - President & Chief Executive Officer
Ms. Pogue joined Cerilliant in September 2005 after briefly serving as Interim CEO beginning in July, 2005. Ms. Pogue is also a member of the Board of Directors, a position she has held since August 2000. Ms. Pogue brings 20 years of general business and financial management experience to Cerilliant to complement Cerilliant's experienced technical team. Prior to becoming CEO of Cerilliant, Ms. Pogue was a long-time Partner of Lynch Investment Company, a private equity firm located in Dallas, TX. Lynch sponsored the acquisition of Cerilliant from Radian in August 2000. In her capacity as Partner with Lynch, Ms. Pogue was involved in all facets of Lynch's M&A activities and served as the Lynch Managing Partner representing investors and/or a board member in several portfolio investments in diverse industries such as metals manufacturing, food distribution, trucking, and intellectual property development. Prior to becoming Partner at Lynch, Ms. Pogue served in a variety of financial management roles including CFO for Lynch and functional CFO for several portfolio companies.

Rick Tellez - Chief Financial Officer
In January 2006, Mr. Tellez joined the Cerilliant team bringing over fourteen years of financial management and accounting experience. Mr. Tellez has a strong background in financial analysis, forecasting, budgeting, cost accounting, and the implementation of ERP systems and is responsible for Cerilliant's finance, accounting, and information technology functions. Mr. Tellez holds a BA in Accounting and an MBA in Finance & Accounting. Prior to joining Cerilliant, Mr. Tellez was Corporate Controller for Ambion, Inc., a leader in the development and supply of innovative RNA-based life science research and molecular biology products.

Mitzi M. Rettinger - Vice President, Sales and Marketing
Prior to her position as Vice President of Cerilliant, Ms. Rettinger was the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Radian Analytical Products Division where she was responsible for sales, marketing, and technical customer service. She began her career at Radian in 1989 and served as Associate Scientist, Scientist, Staff Scientist, Senior Scientist and Marketing Director. She has been published in many industry publications and is a member of the Society of Forensic Toxicologists and TIAFT. Ms. Rettinger received B.S. degrees in Chemistry and Biology from Houston Baptist University in Houston, Texas in 1989.

Richard L. Trammell - Vice President, Regulatory Affairs
Prior to becoming a Vice President of Cerilliant, Mr. Trammell served as the Systems Manager for the Radian Analytical Products Division. His responsibilities included regulatory affairs, accounting, and quality assurance. Mr. Trammell began his career as a Research Assistant at Radian in 1977, and has since served as Scientist, Staff Scientist, Senior Scientist, and Senior Staff Scientist. He is the author of eight different publications relating to reference materials. Mr. Trammell holds a B.B.A. in Accounting from The University of Texas at Austin and a B.S. in Chemistry from Pan American University in Edinburg, Texas.