Shinichi Sato

Shinichi Sato is the President and CEO of Sysmex Inostics. Prior to this, he was Vice President of Project Management of Alliance, and Clinical Planning at Astex Pharmaceutical Inc., where he was responsible for the global oncology drug development strategy and go-to-market tactics involved in launching new initiatives and building and managing strategic partnerships.

Shinichi has over 30 years of experience in the pharma and diagnostics industries and specializes in post-merger integration. He also has an abundance of familiarity with global partnerships in the pharma industry and portfolio management in drug development.

Shinichi draws inspiration for what he does at Sysmex Inostics from the knowledge that, with every new diagnostic we successfully commercialize, there are potentially thousands of patients whose lives could be changed.

Outside the office, you can find him mountain climbing, traveling to historical places around the world, or listening to music on vinyl.

Tracy Vandenbroek

Tracy is the Senior Director, Marketing & Business Strategy, where she leads current and future customer-facing aspects of the company, such as marketing, branding, PR, systems / infrastructure improvement, and long-term strategy. She has over 20 years of bench-to-commercial experience in molecular research and diagnostics at various companies and institutions such as Abbott, QIAGEN, Luminex, ATCC, Northwestern University, and The University of Texas at Austin. Tracy loves putting order to chaos, making businesses work efficiently, and keeping employees happy.

She draws inspiration for the work she does from the loss of her brilliant best friend and lab partner-in-crime to Leukemia a decade ago. That loss has fueled Tracy to fight cancer so that someday a cancer diagnosis doesn’t stop others’ life potential.

When she’s not fine-tuning businesses, you can find her teaching yoga, racing fast cars, surfing, or traveling.

Yosuke Baba

Yosuke is the VP for Corporate Development, where he is primarily focused on activities aimed at growing the company, including strategic partnerships and joint ventures. Yosuke has had a 20-plus-year career in the IT and advanced healthcare space, which has spanned multiple countries and continents, with extensive experience in the molecular diagnostics industry, building strategic alliances and leading mergers and acquisitions.

When he’s not hard at work trying to keep his finger on the pulse on the ever-evolving field of molecular diagnostics and digital health, you’ll find him out running around the Baltimore Inner Harbor.

Frederick S. Jones

Dr. Jones is the head of Medical Scientific Affairs, where he leads a team to demonstrate the use and performance of diagnostic tests in real-world clinical settings and trials.

Fred has over 14 years of experience in the molecular diagnostics industry and was also a Professor at The Scripps Research Institute for 20 years, where he specialized in gene regulation and cellular mechanisms that control morphogenesis during embryonic development. He holds degrees from Yale and Rockefeller University, has co-authored over 100 publications, and has held several leadership positions in both academia and industry.

Fred is a liquid biopsy ambassador to the clinical world of physician-scientists; he deeply believes that biomarker testing at the right time can improve the care of or help cure cancer, and he spends his time spreading that message.

When he’s not knee-deep in clinical trials, you can find him sailing, surfing, camping, or raising his kids to think like scientists.

Aaron J. Lizee

Aaron is the Head of Commercial Operations, overseeing global sales, account activities, business planning, partner alliance, information systems, and services to support Plasma-Safe-Seq and IVD development activities for Sysmex Inostics Germany (SIG) and Sysmex Corporation. 

Aaron brings 18 years of experience in biotech, during which time he has worked in the life science, companion Dx, molecular Dx and pharma sectors, driving interest in next-generation sequencing (NGS) workflows, bioinformatics, enzyme engineering, microbiome, oncology, genetics, and molecular pathology. His knowledge and skill set spans from sales processes, project management, and marketing, along to developing, implementing, and launching products/services globally.

His inspiration for his work lies in seeing the technology he represents, empowering discoveries and decisions within the oncology landscape.

When he’s not building and managing relationships, you can find him hard at work creating one-of-a-kind woodwork pieces or designing beautiful custom pens.

Hongli Zhan, Ph.D., FACMG

Jennifer McCord

Jennifer is Director of Finance, where she oversees accounting and financial reporting operations and helps establish strategies to reduce cost and increase efficiency.

Jennifer, a Certified Public Accountant, has over 22 years of experience in accounting, including biotech, and is experienced in virtually all aspects of finance and accounting management from financial reporting, budgeting, financial modeling and analysis, business planning, and process improvement.

Her passion for the work she does is reignited every day by the positive attitudes and commitment of her co-workers and their focus on putting the patient first.

Takeisha Farmer

Takeisha Farmer is the Director of QA/RA and is responsible for implementing, leading, and maintaining all Quality Assurance, Quality Management System, and Regulatory Affairs related activities. Her primary focus is to strategically position Sysmex Inostics quality and regulatory operations to aid in commercialization goals, ensuring continuous improvement and high-quality products and services enter emerging, regulated, and clinical global markets.

Takeisha started her career as a pharma CRO validation scientist. Since then, she has held various roles including Laboratory Accreditation Officer and Quality Manager across the clinical and medical device industries.

Takeisha’s passion for cancer diagnostics is largely inspired by and a tribute to her best friend, Roslyn, who lost her battle to breast cancer in 2011 at the age of 35. In her spare time, Takeisha is devoted to spending time with family, mentoring young professionals, taking long walks, and traveling.

Bernadette N. Owen, BS, MBA

Bernadette is the Senior Manager, Projects, and is part of the Business Strategy team. She spends her time harmonizing projects at a corporate level, supporting and prioritizing initiatives to achieve our corporate vision. Bernadette is an AMA, certified project manager, and an ASQ, six sigma green belt with over 18 years of experience in biotech. She has brought regulated NGS products to market, managed government programs and coordinated complex international clinical trials, among other accomplishments.

Bernadette derives inspiration for her work from the knowledge that the organization’s core values include a focus on helping patients faced with a terrible life-impacting diagnosis.

When she’s not managing projects, Bernadette enjoys gardening, cycling along the C&O canal, or reading a good book.

Marie Amiel, MS, MB(ASCP)CM

Marie Amiel is the Manager of Laboratory Operations at Sysmex Inostics (SII). She has a BS in Biology from University of Texas at Arlington and a master’s from University of North Texas Health Science Center in Forensic Genetics. She is ASCP certified in Molecular Biology and has 10 years of experience in diagnostic laboratories, NGS, solid tumors, hematological malignancies, rare genetic disease testing, bone marrow engraftment testing. She also has extensive knowledge of CAP and CLIA, and will soon be sitting for the Diplomate in Laboratory Management, DLM(ASCP) exam.

Marie’s work at SII is personal; she lost an aunt to colon cancer and has since framed everything she does at work as a vendetta against cancer. Every Friday afternoon email from a doctor or frantic late night phone call reminds her of those stressful times that her family endured. For that reason, every sample that passes through her lab is treated as if it were from a family member.

Marie spends her free time hiking, crafting, and obsessing over her cute pittie mix pup and three cats.