GEN STAFF
John Sterling, Editor in Chief —
John joined Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News as an assistant editor in 1984 and became editor-in-chief in 1989. He holds a B.S. in biology from CCNY and a Master of Arts in journalism from the University of Minnesota. John also was a graduate student at Hunter College where he majored in biological anthropology, focusing on the morphological and genetic aspects of human evolution.
He is an active member of the National Association of Science Writers, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the American Association of Anthropological Genetics and has received journalism fellowships from the University of Minnesota, the University of Maryland, and the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech University. He is a frequent guest speaker and moderator of biotechnology panel discussions at conferences in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. In 2009, John was selected to serve as co-chair of the program committee for the Biotechnology Industry Organization's annual conference in Chicago in May 2010.
John is a former intercollegiate ice hockey player at CCNY and still lives and dies with the New York Rangers.
Tamlyn Oliver, Managing Editor —
Tamlyn has been an editor at GEN since 1998. She has a degree in biology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and was previously managing editor of the Journal of Soil Contamination and publication coordinator at Amherst Scientific Publishers.
Tamlyn was an avid runner who won a number of regional races. Due to advancing age she is now an avid swimmer, cyclist, and elliptical master.
Querida Anderson, Online Managing Editor —
Querida joined GEN in September 2005 as an assistant editor. She has a B.S. in physics and a Masters in science, health, and environmental reporting. She is a published science writer, has produced science news stories for ABC and NBC, and has worked on a documentary for the Discovery Channel about space telescopes and probes.
Querida also enjoys photography and loves to travel.
Robert M. Reis, Production Editor —
Rob has been involved with trade publishing for more than 25 years. Having previously worked in the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. medical journal production department and as production editor for the company's Natural Pharmacy magazine, Rob has been with GEN since mid-2001.
In addition to his BA in journalism from New York University, with a specialty in magazine production and editing, Rob is also a published writer and photographer.
Patrice Bartell, Assistant Editor —
Patrice started working at GEN in January 2012 after eight years at The H.W. Wilson Company, where she was also an Assistant Editor. At GEN, she is in charge of managing the GEN Biotechnology database as well as the People and Events sections of GEN's print components. Patrice is also a librarian, with an MLIS from C.W. Post, Long Island University and a B.A. in English from SUNY Geneseo.
Patrice loves rock music and computer games, especially RPGs.
Laura Mickowski, Senior Editor —
With a Bachelor of Science from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Laura began her career as a high school biology teacher. She moved on to become assistant editor at a medical education company before joining the GEN team in May 2009.
She enjoys biking, arts and crafts, creative writing, and playing the piano.
Alex Philippidis, Senior News Editor —
Alex Philippidis joined GEN and Mary Ann Liebert Inc. in February 2011 after four years at GenomeWeb L.L.C. There, Alex reported on research institutes for GenomeWeb Daily News and spent three years covering life sciences economic development as editor of the weekly newsletter BioRegion News.
Previously, Alex spent more than 20 years covering business and general news, capped by seven years as editor-in-chief of the Westchester County Business Journal in White Plains, NY. He earlier covered Navy news for the independent weekly Soundings of Norfolk, VA.; and community news for Gannett Westchester Newspapers (now The Journal News) of White Plains, NY; the North County News; and the Rappahannock News of Washington, Va.
Alex enjoys solving crossword puzzles, watching classic TV game shows, and traveling with his family.
Melinda Kucsera, Web Producer —
Melinda has extensive experience in all aspects of online production and project management. Since 2002, she supported websites for nonprofits such as ArtsWestchester and e-commerce sites for catalog retailers such as Lillian Vernon Corp. and Spiegel Brands Inc. Melinda holds a B.A. in English and communications and an M.S. in publishing, both from Pace University.
She enjoys working out, singing in a local church choir, and dabbling in photography.
Thomas Mathew, e-Newsletter Product Manager —
Thomas has nearly 20 years of magazine publishing experience from new business acquisition to database marketing to retention. Prior to joining GEN, he worked with several major publishers including Bonnier, Crain's New York Business, and Nature Publishing Group. He has a Bachelor's degree from Baruch College.
Thomas enjoys sports, fine dining, running, and building personal computers.
Kwafo Anoff, Manager, Audience Marketing —
Kwafo has been involved in audience development for trade publications for over 20 years. Prior to coming to GEN, he worked with several reputable publishing companies managing audience development in different markets. Kwafo has a Bachelor of Science degree from Fordham University. He is a former member of both ABC and BPA Advisory Board on Audience Development.
Kwafo also loves to travel and is an avid fan of soccer.
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
K. John Morrow Jr., Ph.D., Contributing Editor
K. John Morrow Jr., Ph.D., has written for GEN for the last two decades in the area of antibody engineering, bioprocessing, and molecular biology. He earned a Ph.D. in genetics from the University of Washington in Seattle, followed by postdoctoral work at the Istituto di Genetica, Universitá di Pavia, Italy, and the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. He taught at the University of Kansas and Texas Tech University and currently holds an adjunct faculty appointment at Northern Kentucky University. He has been associated with Meridian Biosciences, Inc., in Cincinnati, OH, for the last decade where he consults on immunologically based products. He has also consulted for numerous biotech companies and has written on environmental issues and related technologies for a number of publications.
John and his wife, Julie, live in Newport, a 200-year old Kentucky river town, where they share an ornate Victorian house with numerous cats and enough house plants to reverse global warming.
Robert Yuan, Ph.D., Asian News Editor
Robert Yuan has been associated with GEN since 1986 and writes regularly on biotechnology in Asia. He is professor emeritus at the University of Maryland College Park and has been a senior staff member at the National Research Council. As a Foreign Service officer, he did extensive work on the impact of biotechnology in economic development in Western Europe and Japan. He has worked on biotechnology projects in Asia for more than 20 years in collaboration with the governments of the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, and Hong Kong as well as private firms and financial organizations.
He has also done major work on the globalization of undergraduate science and engineering education.
Sophia Ktori, European News Editor
Sophia Ktori first started writing for GEN in 1993 and has been European News Editor since 2003. She has a bachelors of science in zoology and prior to starting with GEN, spent some time involved in human molecular genetics research as well as writing for a number of international biotech and pharma publications and national U.K. media.
Based in the U.K., Sophia spends her spare time looking after her young family and a somewhat diverse menagerie, which currently includes horses, sheep, dogs, snakes, and a very loud Siamese cat.
Susan Aldridge, Ph.D., European News Reporter
Susan Aldridge has a Ph.D. in chemistry (London University) and an M.Sc. in biotechnology. She has been working with GEN since 1993 and also freelances for a number of other publications, writing about biotech, chemistry, psychology, and general science. Before taking up full-time writing, Susan worked for the UK Medical Research Council as a chemist and molecular biologist. She has also written several books including The Thread of Life - The story of genes and genetic engineering (Cambridge University Press).
Susan's interests include film, walking while listening to audio books, travel, and learning French.
REGULAR WRITERS
Angelo DePalma, Ph.D.
Angelo DePalma has been a freelance contributor to GEN for over 21 years. His editorial expertise ranges from biomanufacturing to basic science, instrumentation, and healthcare policy. Angelo's nearly 2,000 articles have appeared in more than 30 journals, trade publications, and websites. Angelo holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Stony Brook University.
His interests include chess, gardening, and tennis.
Gail Dutton
Gail Dutton is fascinated with the intersection of science and business. Her interest in microbial bioremediation led her to GEN as a freelance writer in 1990. Her expertise extends into the fields of global trade and enterprise computing, which inform many of her GEN articles. Gail has a B.S. in journalism.
Gail enjoys photography, hiking and reading, and plays classical piano. She and her family traded life in Los Angeles for life on a tree farm in Washington State.
Patricia F. Dimond, Ph.D.
Patricia Dimond has been a long-time contributor to Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News. Currently, she is president of BioInsight Communications, a strategic communications consultancy for the biotechnology industry. During her career in the biotechnology industry, she was vp of strategic development and corporate communications at Coley Pharmaceutical Group (now Pfizer), where she developed and managed the company's investor relations and communications programs and raised $28 million in the company's final pre-IPO private equity financing. Prior to joining Coley, Dr. Dimond held positions at Noonan/Russo Communications, Genzyme Transgenics Corporation, and at PerSeptive Biosystems. Dr. Dimond has written over 400 articles about the business and science of biotechnology. She holds an M.S. in scientific communication from Boston University, an M.Sc. in membrane biophysics from Georgetown University School of Medicine, and a Ph.D. in cellular biochemistry and molecular biology from The Catholic University of America.
She spends her nonexistent free time enjoying cooking, traveling, and reading cheesy novels, especially political thrillers.
Vicki Glaser
Vicki Glaser has been a freelance contributor to GEN since 1991. She has Bachelor's degrees in biology and psychology from the University of Virginia and a Master's degree in genetics from the University of Pennsylvania. Vicki began her career in science and medical writing on the staff of Nature Biotechnology and then was managing editor of the New York State Journal of Medicine. She has been a freelance writer for the past 24 years.
Vicki enjoys reading, running, and taking long walks with her dog.