Personnel

David AuCoin cofounded DxDiscovery and currently serves as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. Dr. AuCoin is also a Professor and Chair of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. He has nearly 25 years experience in the study of viral, bacterial and fungal immunology and pathogenesis. Currently, his research is focused on developing diagnostics and therapeutics for microbial infections. Dr. AuCoin has received multiple research grants and contracts from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense. Dr. AuCoin received his B.S. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst followed by his M.S. and Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Nevada. Dr. AuCoin completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University 2005.

Thomas Kozel cofounded DxDiscovery in 2012; he currently serves as the company’s Vice-President. Dr. Kozel is also a Professor of Microbiology at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. Dr. Kozel has 45 years of experience in study of the molecular immunology, microbial pathogenesis and host responses to fungal and bacterial pathogens. Interests include immunochemistry and monoclonal antibody technologies and the identification of targets for immunodiagnosis and immunotherapy of infectious disease. These interests are core technologies of DxDiscovery. He has secured greater than $25 million in NIH grant funding, published more than 135 scientific papers, is an NIH MERIT awardee, and served on more than 25 NIH scientific review panels. Dr. Kozel received his B.A., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in microbiology from the University of Iowa. He has been a visiting scholar at the Rockefeller University and Oxford University.

Amanda Burnham-Marusich is the Director of Research and Development at DxDiscovery with expertise in monoclonal antibody production and immunoassay development (ELISA and lateral flow). Her research interests center on improving public health through better diagnosis of infectious disease, specifically identification of effective biomarkers for fungal or bacterial infection and the development of rapid, low-cost diagnostic immunoassays. Dr. Burnham-Marusich has been the Principal Investigator on over $8 million worth of Phase I, Phase II, and Phase IIB SBIR grants from NIH to develop immunoassay diagnostics. She earned her B.S. and M.S. in Biological Sciences from Stanford University and her Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Nevada, Reno. Her post-doctoral training was completed in the Diagnostics Discovery Laboratory at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine.

Kathryn Pflughoeft is a Research Scientist at DxDiscovery with expertise in proteomics, microbial genetics, and host:microbe interactions. Her research has been concentrated on proteomic analysis of complex samples and the identification of microbial biomarkers of disease. In addition, Dr. Pflughoeft has a strong interest in the development of specific Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests (NAATs), using isothermal technologies, for the detection of infectious diseases in low-and middle-income countries. She earned her PhD in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at the University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston.

Jacqueline Kelly-Reed is a Research Associate II at DxDiscovery. Her research has been concentrated in creating and optimizing rapid diagnostic tests for fungal infectious diseases; including Dermatophytes and Coccidioidomycosis. She earned her Bachelors of Science in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Ashley Marshall is a Research Associate I and Lab Operations Manager at DxDiscovery. Ashley has expertise in optimizing immunoassays, culturing mammalian cell lines, and manufacturing LFIA prototype test strips. She also supports daily business operations, such as ordering and financial recordkeeping. She has a B.S. from the University of Nevada, Reno in Microbiology and Immunology. She thoroughly enjoys research and hopes to continue learning and influencing the community.