We Offer Experienced Leadership in Clinical Immunology & Allergy Research, Development & Testing
IBT’s team members are leaders in immunological research, pharmaceutical development, contract research, client service, quality assurance, medical technology and laboratory operations. We have extensive experience in the laboratory aspects of immunologic and allergic diseases and our technical staff and is actively involved in research programs to develop new in vitro methods.
Executive Leadership Team
- John F. Halsey, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer (CEO) & Board Member
- Maureen Loftus, M.B.A., President & Chief Operating Officer (COO)
- Michael Ling, PhD, Vice President of Research and Development
- Linda Rene Pfaltzgraff, B.S., MT(ASCP), Vice President of Clinical Laboratory Operations
- Mark S. Colwell, M.S., Vice President of Quality Systems
- Michael Allen Paulsen, Senior Director of Sales
- Eugene G. Malcolm, Director of Sales
- Christian Darabant, Vice President, Pharmaceutical Business Development
- Corey Hampton, Director of Marketing
Dr. John Halsey, IBT's CEO, founded the company in 1983. With more than 30 years experience in immunology research, he is responsible for setting the strategic direction that continues to position IBT as a premier provider of esoteric immunology testing services for pharmaceutical development and diagnostic testing. Dr. Halsey's responsibilities as CEO include defining the company's research and testing services, forming business alliances and ensuring the financial viability of the organization.
Dr. Halsey's vision is founded upon a successful career of science and business. He received his doctoral degree from Johns Hopkins University and post-doctoral training in immunology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and the Medical University of South Carolina. At the University of Kansas School of Medicine, Dr. Halsey taught and performed research in allergy, biochemistry and immunology as an associate professor with tenure until 1984. He is now a clinical associate professor, department of internal medicine, division of allergy, immunology and rheumatology with that same institution.
Maureen Loftus was named President and Chief Operating Officer of IBT Laboratories in May 2008, with overall responsibility for managing and providing strategic oversight for the international immunology and allergy laboratory specializing in clinical research, development and testing.
Before being named to her current role at IBT, Ms. Loftus served in senior leadership positions with companies across a variety of industries, gaining extensive experience working with high-growth organizations. These included The Bode Technology Group, Inc, one of the nation’s leading providers of forensic DNA analysis, where she was the president and Identico Systems, a pioneer in biometric enabled identity verification systems, where she served as chief operating officer. In addition, she has more than 10 years experience as a management consultant to Fortune 500 companies on strategic, operational and organizational issues.
Ms. Loftus earned her undergraduate degree in business administration at Washington University’s John M. Olin School of Business in St. Louis, and holds a master’s degree in management from Kellogg Graduate School of Business at Northwestern University.
Dr. Michael Ling has over 20 years of experience in the disciplines of molecular biology, biochemistry and analytical chemistry. As Vice President of Research and Development, he manages the development of new tests in allergy and immunology.
Prior to joining IBT, Dr. Ling was Director of Assay Development at SQI Diagnostics, Inc. where he developed rheumatoid arthritis reagents for a multiplex immunoassay. As Manager of Product Development at Tm Bioscience Corporation (now part of Luminex Inc.), Dr. Ling developed molecular diagnostic mutation detection assay products in genes responsible for cystic fibrosis and other inherited diseases. During his tenure at Invitrogen Corporation, he developed new products and ideas while also advising the company on scientific content of marketing materials.
Dr. Ling began his career in China as an analytical chemist and professor. He furthered his biochemistry studies in Canada and received his PhD, which was awarded with Distinction, from the University of Guelph. In addition, he has two issued patents and two other pending applications. Dr. Ling has published numerous articles and papers in internationally renowned publications.
With more than 15 years experience in the pharmaceutical, medical device and clinical laboratory arena, Ms. Linda Pfaltzgraff serves as IBT's vice president of laboratory operations. In this role she is responsible for managing all laboratory personnel. She also has extensive experience in the implementation of GLP level quality systems for clinical trial testing
Previously, Ms. Pfaltzgraff served as quality assurance and regulatory affairs manager at CRL/Medinet. She has also held several leadership positions at Osborn Laboratories including R&D scientist, general manager of the medical devices division, laboratory manager and director of operations.
Mr. Mark Colwell, IBT's vice president of quality systems, has 27 years experience in immunoassay product development and regulatory affairs. In his position at IBT, he develops and implements quality assurance processes and systems across the organization for IBT's clinical trial testing, diagnostic testing and assay development services. His responsibilities include defining strategies for quality systems and processes; ensuring adherence to GLP, CLIA and FDA guidelines; and guaranteeing test accuracy, test reliability and proper specimen handling and storage.
Prior to IBT, Mr. Colwell held positions of increasing responsibility in immunoassay development for Meloy Labs and ProGene Corporation. He received his M.S. in immunology from the University of Oklahoma.
With more than 25 years of experience in sales and business development, Mr. Paulsen joined IBT as Senior Director of Sales for the Clinical Laboratory. His responsibilities include developing sales and revenue strategies and leading market expansion efforts.
Prior to joining IBT, Mr. Paulsen was the Regional Manager of Business Development for Laboratory Corporation of America in Kansas City, MO where he led a team of 18 covering a seven state territory. Preceding his tenure with LabCorp, Mr. Paulsen held several sales management positions with a variety of companies including BioView and Inspex, Inc. At BioView he directed the sales of Automated FISH scanning and analysis systems to hospitals. During his time at Inspex he managed the sales of $1.5M Wafer Inspection and Data Management systems to semiconductor manufacturers.
Mr. Paulsen began his career as a Registered Nurse at Methodist Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska as the Clinical Supervisor of the ICU department. In 2000, he graduated from Cardinal Stritch University with a B.S. in Administration. Mr. Paulsen then furthered his sales education with numerous seminars and training curriculums.
Mr. Gene Malcolm has a 20 year history of managing marketing, sales and new business development within global pharmaceutical and health care organizations. In his role as director of sales for IBT, Mr. Malcolm is responsible for setting the organization's sales and revenue strategies, leading new business development efforts, and developing partnerships with global equipment vendors and reagent manufacturers.
Prior to IBT, Mr. Malcolm has held leadership positions with esteemed organizations such as Institute for Health Care Quality, Sanofi-Pasteur, Hybritech-Eli Lilly and PerkinElmer. He received a B.S. in business management from Friends University.
Christian Darabant is Vice President, Pharmaceutical Business Development at IBT Laboratories. In this role, Mr. Darabant is responsible for leading all aspects of IBT’s pharmaceutical business strategy including sales, marketing and planning.
Prior to joining IBT, Mr. Darabant served as Director, Business Development at PRL Central Laboratory Services. Before his post at PRL, Mr. Darabant held increasing roles of responsibility at EaglePicher, including Pharmaceutical Services Executive Management, and Director of Global Pharmaceutical Business Development. Mr. Darabant received a Masters degree in Business Administration from Baker University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Pre-Medicine from Kansas State University.
Corey Hampton is the Director of Marketing at IBT Laboratories. In his role, Corey leads the planning, design and implementation of all aspects of marketing for the clinical diagnostics, pharmaceutical services and reagents/kit businesses.
Corey’s extensive experience in marketing includes being the founder and President of a marketing services business, Presidio Marketing. Prior to that, he worked at American Century Investments as Assistant Brand Manager and Sprint PCS as a Marketing Business Analyst.Corey has a Bachelors of Arts degree in Communication Studies from the University of Missouri- Kansas City.
Scientific Leadership Team
- John F. Halsey, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer (CEO) & Board Member
- Michael Ling, PhD, Vice President of Research and Development
- Joanne Parker, Ph.D., Director of Research & Pharmaceutical Services
- Michelle Altrich, Ph.D., Director of New Test Development & Assistant Laboratory Director
- Rebecca Horvat, Ph.D., Diplomat (ABMM), Assistant Laboratory Director
- Marilyn S. Smith, Ph.D., Senior Scientist Research & Pharmaceutical Services
- Dominic Warrino, Ph.D., Senior Scientist Research & Pharmaceutical Services
Dr. John Halsey, IBT's CEO, founded the company in 1983. With more than 30 years experience in immunology research, he is responsible for setting the strategic direction that continues to position IBT as a premier provider of esoteric immunology testing services for pharmaceutical development and diagnostic testing. Dr. Halsey's responsibilities as CEO include defining the company's research and testing services, forming business alliances and ensuring the financial viability of the organization.
Dr. Halsey's vision is founded upon a successful career of science and business. He received his doctoral degree from Johns Hopkins University and post-doctoral training in immunology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and the Medical University of South Carolina. At the University of Kansas School of Medicine, Dr. Halsey taught and performed research in allergy, biochemistry and immunology as an associate professor with tenure until 1984. He is now a clinical associate professor, department of internal medicine, division of allergy, immunology and rheumatology with that same institution.
Dr. Michael Ling has over 20 years of experience in the disciplines of molecular biology, biochemistry and analytical chemistry. As Vice President of Research and Development, he manages the development of new tests in allergy and immunology.
Prior to joining IBT, Dr. Ling was Director of Assay Development at SQI Diagnostics, Inc. where he developed rheumatoid arthritis reagents for a multiplex immunoassay. As Manager of Product Development at Tm Bioscience Corporation (now part of Luminex Inc.), Dr. Ling developed molecular diagnostic mutation detection assay products in genes responsible for cystic fibrosis and other inherited diseases. During his tenure at Invitrogen Corporation, he developed new products and ideas while also advising the company on scientific content of marketing materials.
Dr. Ling began his career in China as an analytical chemist and professor. He furthered his biochemistry studies in Canada and received his PhD, which was awarded with Distinction, from the University of Guelph. In addition, he has two issued patents and two other pending applications. Dr. Ling has published numerous articles and papers in internationally renowned publications.
Dr. Parker has over 15 years experience in research and development in cellular immunology and cancer immunotherapeutics. She has experience with many types of technologies to study therapeutic vaccines, including viral vectors, DNA, peptides, yeast and liposomal delivery systems in addition to costimulatory molecules, adjuvants, cytokines, and monoclonal antibodies. She has experience in the biotechnology industry having worked at Centocor, Biomira, and Globeimmune. Dr. Parker received her PhD from Hahnemann University in Philadelphia and completed her postdoctoral training in the Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology at the National Cancer Institute.
As Director of New Test Development at IBT, Dr. Michelle Altrich is responsible for the new test development program in the area of cellular function testing in allergy and autoimmune disease. In addition, she oversees the management of cellular immunology projects for pharmaceutical research and clinical trials.
Dr. Altrich has extensive experience in the management of cellular immunology research. She received her PhD in pathology and microbiology from the University of Nebraska Medical Center where the focus of her research was tumor immunology. Prior to joining IBT, she held an appointment at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville where she specialized in molecular and cellular immunology.
As IBT's assistant laboratory director, Dr. Rebecca Horvat is responsible for supporting the clinical laboratory's new test development program, specifically in the area of infectious disease immunology.
Dr. Horvat is a nationally recognized expert in medical microbiology and also is an associate professor in pathology and lab medicine and section director of the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) hospital microbiology and immunology laboratory. She has an active research program at KUMC and IBT studying antimicrobial resistance and respiratory bacterial pathogens.
Dr. Horvat received her doctoral degree in medical microbiology from the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Kansas City. She then spent three years as a postdoctoral fellow studying HIV in human T lymphocytes.
Dr. Marilyn Smith, Senior Scientist, is engaged in new test development, especially in the area of immune cell based assays of anergy and reactivity to viruses and other infections, as well as in projects related to clinical trials and pharmaceutical research. Dr. Smith has extensive experience in various virus infections and the intersection of virology and immunology. She earned her doctorate in Microbiology from the University of Minnesota in 1982, and received postdoctoral training at the Clinical Research Institute, Montreal, and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Starting in 1985, she has been active in HIV research, antiviral synergisms, the development of antiviral resistance, vaccine development, and virus evolution within the host. She has been on the research faculty at the University of Kansas School of Medicine since 1995, as research associate professor of Microbiology and Medicine-Infectious Diseases at KUMC since 2003.
As a Senior Research Scientist, Dr. Warrino serves as a lead scientist for pharmaceutical clients. He is responsible for developing and implementing client tests, communicating with the client, and assisting in the acquisition of new contracts. As a cancer immunologist, Dr. Warrino has researched dendritic cell based cancer vaccines, autologous ex vivo cancer therapies, and screening for cancer biomarkers. Most recently, he has worked in the clinical flow cytometry field testing leukemia and lymphoma CD markers and developing methods for the preservation of cellular epitopes. He has extensive experience in immunological testing including ELISPOT, flow cytometry, ELISA, cell culture, and cell purification.
He has over 10 years of experience in biotechnology having worked at Cytogen (formally Cellcor), Eligix, and Streck. Dr. Warrino received his Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and a M.S. in Biochemistry/Biotechnology from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.
Board of Directors
- Laurence McCarthy, Ph.D, Executive Chairman
- John F. Halsey, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer (CEO) & Board Member
- Herbert H. Hooper, Ph.D., Board Member
- F. John Mills, M.D., Ph.D., Board Member
- Vijay Aggarwal, Ph.D., Board Member
- Peter H. Glick, Board Member
Dr. McCarthy is President of Scientific Technologies and Solutions, LLC., a consulting company that specializes in assisting growth companies and venture capital firms with business and scientific strategies. He served as Vice President of Research and Development for Becton Dickinson’s microbiology businesses (1981-1983); Vice President and General Manager of their immunomicrobiology business (1983-1985); President of Boehringer Mannheim’s US diagnostics division (1985-1987), and was with Focus Diagnostics (1987-2007) where he served as President and CEO, Chairman, and Chief Technology Officer. Dr. McCarthy serves on the Board of Directors of Magellan Biosciences, Primera Biosystems and Mraligen Biosciences.
Dr. McCarthy received his Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of New Hampshire, underwent postdoctoral training at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University School of Business. Dr. McCarthy has served on the faculties of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Cornell University School of Medicine and The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Dr. John Halsey, IBT's CEO, founded the company in 1983. With more than 30 years experience in immunology research, he is responsible for setting the strategic direction that continues to position IBT as a premier provider of esoteric immunology testing services for pharmaceutical development and diagnostic testing. Dr. Halsey's responsibilities as CEO include defining the company's research and testing services, forming business alliances and ensuring the financial viability of the organization.
Dr. Halsey's vision is founded upon a successful career of science and business. He received his doctoral degree from Johns Hopkins University and post-doctoral training in immunology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and the Medical University of South Carolina. At the University of Kansas School of Medicine, Dr. Halsey taught and performed research in allergy, biochemistry and immunology as an associate professor with tenure until 1984. He is now a clinical associate professor, department of internal medicine, division of allergy, immunology and rheumatology with that same institution.
Dr. Herb Hooper has been a general partner with Ampersand since 2002. Previously, Dr. Hooper was chief technology officer and executive vice president at ACLARA BioSciences (Nasdaq: ACLA), an Ampersand portfolio company. He has served as director at ACLARA and Cyclis. He currently serves as chairman at Magellan and RadPharm and as a director of IBT Reference Laboratory, Assay Designs, Medifacts and Panacos. Dr. Hooper, who holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from North Carolina State University and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, has also served as a product manager at Air Products and Chemicals.
Dr. John Mills is the chief executive officer and chairman of BioStorage Technologies, Inc., a premier provider of advanced biomaterials storage, inventory management and worldwide cold chain logistics based in Indianapolis, Ind. Prior to BioStorage Technologies, Dr. Mills oversaw global clinical research, management and support at Covance, Inc. and Janssen Pharmaceutica, a division of Johnson & Johnson. His expertise includes extensive knowledge of pharmaceutical development and contract pharmaceutical research. Prior to his corporate experience, Dr. Mills was a flight surgeon with the Royal Air Force. He received his medical degree from Cambridge University and his Ph.D. in endocrinology from Surrey University in the UK. He holds diplomas in pharmaceutical medicine, aviation medicine and marketing and has authored more than forty scientific papers and a textbook on aviation medicine.
Dr. Vijay Aggarwal serves as president and chief executive officer of Aureon Laboratories in Yonkers, New York. Aureon develops and provides predictive testing for personalized clinical cancer care and for the pharmaceutical research and development industry. As a recognized scientific and business leader in the fields of pharmaceutical development, contract research and clinical laboratory testing, Dr. Aggarwal provides IBT with strategic counsel in the areas of new business initiatives, operational protocol and research and development. Prior to joining Aureon, Dr. Aggarwal served in executive leadership roles at companies such as AAI Development Services, Inc.; Quest Diagnostic Ventures; and SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories. His areas of expertise include new technology, new business models, clinical trials testing, direct-to-consumer strategies and laboratory operations. Dr. Aggarwal holds a Ph.D. in pharmacology and toxicology from the Medical College of Virginia.
Peter joined Ampersand in 2007 as a Venture Partner. From 2001 to 2007, Peter served as President and CEO of Cohesive Technologies, a bioanalytical equipment company that was sold to Thermo-Fisher. Prior to Cohesive, Peter served as President of Primedica, a pharmaceutical services business that was acquired by Charles River Labs. Previously, Peter served as VP of Corporate Development at TSI Corporation, and as a management consultant at Bain. Peter holds an M.S. in Management from the Sloan School at MIT and a B.S. in Economics from Wharton.