Management

Richard Lin, PhD

President and CEO

Dr. Richard Lin has more than 20 years of academic research and industry drug development experience. With extensive knowledge of physiology and research operations, Richard oversees strategic development of Explora's services. Prior to founding Explora BioLabs, Richard was a Research Investigator at Ansata Therapeutics. He headed the group responsible for the preclinical development of Ansata's novel antimicrobial peptides in support of their advancement toward IND filing. In addition, his group studied the in vivo activities and biodistribution of novel peptide and protein therapeutics using a variety of animal models, including cancer and neurodegenerative disease models. Richard also served as head of the Physiology Department at Genset Corporation, where he led the effort to determine the in vivo functions of Genset's leading therapeutic proteins in the areas of obesity and diabetes. Richard's earlier biotech experience included a Group Leader position at Corvas International, where he led the in vivo Pharmacology department, and a Senior Scientist position at Axys Pharmaceuticals, where he created several knockout models for diseases including cancer and asthma. Richard conducted his postdoctoral research at UC San Diego Cancer Center, and received his PhD in Zoology from UC Berkeley.

Hong Xin, PhD

Senior Vice President, Operations

Dr. Hong Xin is in charge of all contract research and business development activities at Explora. She has more than 20 years of academic research and industry drug development experience with in-depth knowledge across multiple disciplines including cancer biology, cell biology, molecular biology and pharmacology. Prior to joining Explora BioLabs, Hong was the director of Preclinical Pharmacology at Alexion Antibody Technologies, where she was responsible for management of pharmacology and pharmacokinetic projects as well as animal model development. Hong also headed a division of PhD scientists and research associates developing solid tumor targets leading to preclinical candidates. She gained substantial experience in drug development in the areas of breast, prostate, ovarian and renal cancers, and developed a variety of tumor models for drug screening. Hong also managed GLP-compliant CRO research projects and participated in IND filings for cancer therapeutics. Before her seven years at Alexion, Hong was a scientist in the Pharmacology Department at Chiron Corporation in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she worked on anti-angiogenic factors, cytokines and chemokines for immunotherapy and kinase inhibitors that block the cell cycle. Hong conducted her postdoctoral research at the Burnham Institute in La Jolla and Chiron Corporation. She received her PhD in Biological Chemistry from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.