Thomas has more than 25 years of experience and expertise as an entrepreneur working with companies that have a strong technological base. He is the founder of PIRCHE and was the co-founder and former CEO of the biopharmaceutical company “NOXXON Pharma” (EPA: ALNOX), also based in Berlin. In 2004, Thomas was co-founder of Arcway (Berlin), the first spin-off from the Hasso-Plattner Institute in Potsdam and served as its chariman until it was sold in 2010. Additionally, he served from 2006 to 2020 as the business development advisor and legal representative for all clinical trials in Europe of “Pluristem” (NASDAQ: PSTI), Haifa, a leading provider of cell therapy products. Thomas holds a Magister Artium (M.A.) degree from the Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich in History and Political Sciences.
Dr. Spierings is the inventor of the PIRCHE algorithm which allows the prediction of HLA-derived T-cell epitopes and he has been leading in the process of bringing the PIRCHE concept from prototype to production. Since 2008, he has operated as an independent principal investigator at the Center of Translational Immunology and as an EFI accredited lab director of the HLA laboratory of the University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands. In this combined position, he merges diagnostic histocompatibility testing with research and teaching. His research has a strong focus on T cells and T-cell responses in relation to organ- and stem-cell transplantation with the aim to translate new knowledge into clinical practice.
Eric is also the (co-) author of more than 90 publications in national and international scientific journals and he currently has an h-index of 29. He has been project leader of the minor H antigen projects within the 14th and 15th International HLA & Immunogenetics Workshops and is currently co-chair of the upcoming International HLA & Histocompatibility Workshop with a special focus on the definition of the immunogenic and non-immunogenic HLA epitopes.
Bethany holds a PhD in Molecular Physiology from Vanderbilt University and was trained in transplant immunology at The Johns Hopkins Immunogenetics Laboratory. As Vice President Global Commercialization, she brings, in addition to her exceptional scientific background, an outstanding professional history built over several years working for one of the industrial leaders in the field. This includes over a decades’ worth of experience in the HLA typing, antibody analysis and cfDNA spaces, covering the clinical, research and industrial diagnostics domains.
Bethany’s wide ranging expertise is put to use as a core member of the leadership team and she serves as a vital driving force for PIRCHE’s business development strategy. She is responsible for guiding the company’s growth in key fields including commercial strategy, partner relationship management, communications and engagement.
Matthias serves as PIRCHE’s Vice President – Technology, focusing on implementing the PIRCHE web service and translating the PIRCHE algorithm from a pure research prototype to a commercial tool-suite. He supports research teams all around the globe, has co- authored multiple PIRCHE-related publications and regularly presents scientific abstracts at international conferences. Matthias holds a Masters degree in Computer Science with a major in software engineering and a minor in Bioinformatics from Berlin University (Freie Universität). While working at Charité University Hospital in Berlin, he developed a database for kidney transplantation data and worked on various laboratory information systems and research databases. His research at Charité focused on epitope matching models and machine learning in sparse clinical data sets.
During Ben’s Masters studies in Computational Biology at the University of Minnesota in the USA, he collaborated on data standards for HLA genotyping data with the bioinformatics team of the National Marrow Donor Program / BeTheMatch. In 2020, Ben completed his PhD, focused on HLA Haplotypes and long-read nanopore sequencing, in bioinformatics at Maastricht University Medical Center in the Netherlands. Following this, he worked in Utrecht, NL within the Center for Translational Immunology on a variety of immunogenicity projects. Ben has also been responsible for data collection and bioinformatics analysis for an assortment of HLA-focused studies for the 18th International HLA and Immunogenetics Workshop. His computational focus and interest in bioinformatics and HLA immunogenicity complements the goals of PIRCHE to provide epitope-focused matching services.
With nearly 15 years of experience in IT Andreas’ career has covered a wide range of niches in software development from business analytics & requirements engineering through architecture & implementation up to quality assurance & infrastructure management, both in the role as engineer and manager. After working as software engineer for different companies Andreas worked for the Cytolon AG developing and certifying a HLA based stem cell matching platform supporting health care professionals in treating leukaemia patients. Following that he worked at Be the Partner building a clinical trial platform taking the role as Director of Technology. Finally Andreas joined the PIRCHE team as Director of Operations, later being appointed Vice President – Operations and covering multiple aspects in running and further developing the PIRCHE web-service and technology, as well as working closely with the PIRCHE customers, partners and community.
Kendy is a seasoned technology professional with over 15 years of experience in various industries, including AI, logistics, finance, energy, and education. He has held multiple roles in his career, which has given him valuable experience in tackling complex problems. His educational background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering and a Master’s degree in Computer Science.
Throughout his career, Kendy has worked on different projects for all stages of software development, including planning, design, analysis, development, testing, rollout, and maintenance. His vast experience in various industries has allowed him to develop a versatile skill set, which he can apply to different projects and problems.
Timothy, our Senior Marketing Manager, is a trained economist and statistician with international experience in the financial services industry, project management, marketing and market intelligence. His areas of specialization include market analysis, business development and consumer outreach. Tim holds a Master of Arts in Development Economics from Universität Passau, a Master of Science in Financial Economics from The University of Manchester, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Statistics from the University of Botswana.
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