Jeffrey Bland, Ph.D., FACN, CNS
President and Chief Science Officer

Jeffrey S. Bland, Metagenics’ President and Chief Science Officer, has been an internationally recognized leader in the nutritional medicine field for over 30 years. Headquartered in Gig Harbor, WA, Dr. Bland founded HealthComm International, Inc. in 1985, and served as its Chief Executive Officer until the merger with its strategic partner, Metagenics, in 2000. As the principal visionary of HealthComm, Dr. Bland had already distinguished the company as a leader in the development of medical foods by the time of the merger. In 1992 he established the internationally respected Institute for Functional Medicine to train health practitioners globally in the application of nutritional and functional medicine.

A nutritional biochemist and registered clinical laboratory director, Dr. Bland is a former professor of biochemistry at the University of Puget Sound, and a previous Director of Nutritional Supplement Research at the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine. Dr. Bland has authored five books on nutritional medicine for the healthcare professional and four books on nutrition and health for the general public. He is also the principal author of over 100 peer-reviewed research papers on nutritional biochemistry.

Committed to advancing education in the natural health sciences, Dr. Bland was one of the original board members of Bastyr University in Washington State, the first federally accredited university in the United States offering graduate and undergraduate degrees in natural medicine. With the 25 th consecutive year of the highly regarded seminar series on science-based nutrition and health, Dr. Bland continues to focus on providing practical education to healthcare professionals worldwide.

Dr. Bland holds several patents for nutritional products and oversees the activities of the Functional Medicine Research Center and serves as the Chairman of the Institute for Functional Medicine.

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Matthew Tripp, Ph.D.
Vice President of Research and Development

Dr. Tripp has been conducting industrial research for the past 19 years and has served as Vice President of Research and Development, and Quality Assurance at Metagenics since 2000. Previously, Dr. Tripp spent 15 years in research and development at several fortune 500 companies such as Kellogg Company and Miller Brewing Company. At Kraft General Foods, Dr. Tripp led a successful biotechnology program using molecular cloning technologies to produce novel food ingredients. At Miller, as part of his management of new product innovation, Dr. Tripp led the launch of the Plank Road Brewery (Miller owned), which at year two was the 8 th largest brewery in the United States. At Kellogg, Dr. Tripp was instrumental in the company’s acquisition of Kashi Foods and Morning Star Farms, both among Kellogg’s most profitable brands.

Joining Metagenics in 2000, Dr. Tripp has worked closely with Dr. Bland and Mr. Katke to implement a formalized STAGEGATE product development process streamlining the time from idea conception to market launch. This process has resulted in 62 new or improved products in the marketplace over the past 3 years. In 2002, Dr. Tripp took over the research and development management of MetaProteomics, which led to the creation of one of the best selling new products in Metagenics’ history.

Dr. Tripp received his Ph.D. in microbiology and physiology from Washington State University, and performed post-doctoral research at the University of California, San Diego, on molecular mechanisms regulating cellular growth and differentiation. Dr. Tripp was a pioneer in identifying regulatory protein phosphorylation cascades, a molecular mechanism known to be central to many diseases including oncogenesis, inflammation, and insulin sensitivity.

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Robert H. Lerman, M.D., Ph.D.
Medical Director

Dr. Lerman is the Medical Director of Metagenics and works with the team in the Functional Medicine Research Center. He was officially appointed in 1999; however, he had spent the previous year at HealthComm International, Inc. on sabbatical leave from Boston University School of Medicine, where he was an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine and a faculty member in Nutritional Sciences at the Henry M. Goldman School of Graduate Dentistry. He was also Director of Inpatient Nutrition and Director of Clinical Nutrition for more than 15 years at Boston Medical Center, and served as Chief of Nutrition at Jewish Memorial Hospital in Boston. Dr. Lerman is board certified in internal medicine and received his M.D. from Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a Ph.D. in Nutritional Biochemistry and Metabolism from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has completed fellowships in nephrology and clinical nutrition. As a Major in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, he served as Chief of Medicine at the U.S. Army Hospitals in Berlin, Germany and Vicenza, Italy. In addition, he was acting Chief of Nephrology at Soroka Medical Center in Beer Sheba, Israel.

He has authored and co-authored numerous papers and book chapters, in addition to lecturing on such topics as parenteral nutrition, obesity, fatty acid metabolism, healing and repair of acute myocardial infarction, and trace element deficiency. He is also Director of Medical Education for the Institute for Functional Medicine, serves on the editorial board of Integrative Medicine: A Clinician’s Journal, and an Adjunct Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine.

Dr. Lerman’s clinical research activities are centered at Metagenics’ Functional Medicine Research Center, where over the past 4 years he has served as the principle investigator in over 10 studies in such areas as premenstrual syndrome, knee osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, ex-vivo evaluation of phytonutrient formulations, and evaluation of the effects of a phytonutrient combination on platelet function. In addition, he has been a co-investigator in approximately 10 other studies. He also sees numerous study subjects in individual case management in the evaluation of Metagenics products in a variety of conditions, including metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, premenstrual syndrome, perimenopausal hot flashes, fibromyalgia, carbohydrate craving, chronic fatigue syndrome, hypercholesterolemia, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, and inflammatory bowel disease.

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DeAnn Liska, Ph.D.
Director of Research Information Services

Dr. Liska manages our team of medical writers as well as the research quality assurance division of Metagenics. Dr. Liska received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1987 with specific studies on the aspects of vitamin K biochemistry. Dr. Liska’s post-graduate research was performed at the Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, where she was a Research Assistant Professor, and encompassed nutrient and growth factor effects on gene expression. She has been an integral member of the research and development team since joining HealthComm in July of 1995, contributing to new technology assessment and product ideation and, more recently, leading the medical writing and documentation teams. Dr. Liska has authored numerous papers in peer-reviewed journals, contributed to textbooks on nutrition, and been an invited speaker at national and scientific meetings. She is on the Biotechnology and Biomedical Device Advisory Board for the Washington Technology Center, the Editorial Board for Integrative Medicine: A Clinician’s Journal, and the Curriculum Committee for the Institute for Functional Medicine, and is a past-chair of the Nutrition Division for the American Association of Cereal Chemists (AACC).

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Gary Darland, Ph.D.
Sr. Director of Applied Science

Dr. Darland heads the team in our biological sciences department. Dr. Darland joined HealthComm/Metagenics after 23 years of research experience in natural products, and biochemistry and microbial genetics at Merck Research Laboratories. He received his doctorate in microbiology from the University of Washington. Prior to joining Merck, he was a visiting Fellow at the Centers for Disease Control in the Enteric Disease Section and an Assistant Professor at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. In addition to bench research in microbial biochemistry and genetics, he has been involved in the design and evaluation of clinical trials. These activities have led to the publication of several papers dealing with drug metabolism and the biosynthesis of natural products. Dr. Darland currently supervises the cell biology laboratory, which was completed in the fall of 2003. The laboratory utilizes a variety of proteomic techniques, including ELISA and Western blots, as well as RT-PCR for screening and mechanistic studies on natural products. These techniques can also be applied to both cultured cells and to human clinical samples, in particular whole blood.

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John Babish, Ph.D.
Executive Vice President, MetaProteomics

Dr. Babish joined MetaProteomics, the research and discover program at Metagenics, in 2002. He brings extensive experience with the publishing of over 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers and is an inventor on 14 US and 3 foreign patents. He was tenured Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York for 17 years. His most recent published work includes a chapter on natural antiviral products in: AIDS & Alternative Medicine: Current State of the Science published by Churchill-Livingston. Dr. Babish also serves as the National Coordinator for the USDA Minor Species Drug Program (NRSP-7) which provides funding and expertise for the approval of pharmaceuticals used in the treatment of diseases associated with minor crop species.

He has spoken at 38 national conferences on such topics as cytochrome P-450 mediated drug metabolism, epidemiology and molecular biology of cancer, AIDS drug development, nutrition in HIV and environmental risk assessment. Dr. Babish also serves as chairperson of BIOnexus and Senior Vice President of Ashni Naturaceuticals, companies that focus on using molecular techniques in proteomics to identify pharmacological activity of natural products and develop medical and functional foods.

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Deanna Minich, Ph.D., FACN
Director, New Products

Dr. Minich leads the team of find and discover for new ingredient research at Metagenics. Dr. Minich has an extensive background in nutritional science, having received her master’s degree in human nutrition and dietetics from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and her doctorate in Medical Sciences from the Department of Human Nutrition and Metabolism at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Her area of research has been focused primarily on lipid biochemistry, and specifically on the absorption and metabolism of essential fatty acids. She has published over 10 articles in numerous peer-reviewed, scientific journals, and has presented her work at several national scientific meetings. Since May 2003, Dr. Minich has served as Senior Manager of New Products and New Technology Platforms in Research and Development at Metagenics. Her responsibilities include tactical project management of all new product launches via implementing timelines and facilitating a cross-functional team. In this capacity, she plays a pivotal role interfacing with and aligning R&D, Sales, Marketing and Manufacturing to execute new product launches on time. Since joining Metagenics, she has streamlined the organizational process, which has helped to contribute to the on-time delivery of products. Another facet of Dr. Minich's position is her role as a liaison to the Marketing Department by addressing pertinent scientific issues in the form of technical documents, such as company position papers, white papers, and claims substantiation. Additionally, she assists Marketing in the development of new formulas by evaluating their safety and efficacy. She also oversees the new ingredient and technology process in order to leverage externally developed innovation into new and core products.

Dr. Minich has previously served as an educator, teaching various nutrition-related courses in university settings. In addition to her academic training and teaching skills, she brings industry experience from Cooke Pharma, where she worked on the research and development of the HeartBar™ medical food. She also served as Senior Nutrition Scientist at General Mills, Inc. as a technical expert and developed health strategies for marketing teams.

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Margaret King, BS
Senior Director Quality Assurance / Quality Control

Ms. King received her degree from Fort Wright College and joined HealthComm/Metagenics in 1991 as Technical Affairs Manager overseeing the Quality Control, Product Development, Technical, and Regulatory Departments. In 2002 Ms. King received her Regulatory Affairs Certification from the University of Washington. Ms. King is currently the Senior Director of Quality Assurance/Quality Control and is responsible for assuring regulatory compliance of products and manufacturing facilities.

During the 1998 manufacturing plant construction Ms. King established the quality assurance/quality control programs and designed the physical, analytical, and microbiological laboratories, which perform over 150 tests per week. She has achieved Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP’s) Certifications from the National Nutritional Foods Association, NSF International, and Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for Metagenics.

Previously Ms. King was with the Borden Pasta Group where she served as Manufacturing Manager in charge of all aspect of production and packaging.

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