Raleigh, N.C., April 10, 2017 — Locus Biosciences is excited to announce the addition of its newest Science Advisory Board members, Dr. Casey Theriot and Dr. Daniel Pomp.
Dr. Casey Theriot is an Assistant Professor at North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in the Department of Population Health and Pathobiology. Her work focuses on infectious diseases and how antibiotics can alter gut microbiota and metabolome allowing Clostridium difficile to colonize the gut. Representing some of the most advanced work in the field today, Casey’s research involves identifying the role of the gastrointestinal tract microbiome and metabolome in shaping colonization resistance against C. difficile. She also studies the physiology and pathogenesis of C. difficile and the metabolism of bile acids by the indigenous gastrointestinal microbiota.
“Casey has developed some of the most advanced and clinically-relevant C. difficile research models available globally,” said Rodolphe Barrangou, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer and Chair of the Science Advisory Board. “These models can accurately predict how the microbiome will react to existing and new drug treatments, for both the initial onset and recurrence of CDI throughout the human gut. We are thrilled to have Casey on the team and are excited to work together on Locus’ C. difficile antimicrobial product in the coming months.”
Dr. Daniel Pomp is a Research Professor in the Department of Genetics (School of Medicine) and Nutrition (School of Public Health) at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. He has more than 30 years of experience in the genetics and genomics space as applied to biomedical and agricultural sciences. His group was the first to demonstrate that host DNA can control composition of the mammalian gut microbiome. In 1998 Daniel co-founded GeneSeek, a privately held, global biotechnology company dedicated to providing high quality DNA testing to agribusiness and veterinary medicine. After helping grow GeneSeek into one of the world’s leading animal genotyping companies, Daniel sold the business to the Neogen Corporation.
“Daniel has a wealth of experience and expertise in advancing discovery technologies into industry applications,” said Paul Garofolo, Chief Executive Officer for Locus Biosciences. “His entrepreneurial background, coupled with deep knowledge of the growing microbiome industry uniquely positions Daniel to advise our team, and we look forward to exciting times ahead as we work together to discover new microbiome drug applications.”
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About Locus Biosciences
Locus Biosciences is an emerging biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of a next generation CRISPR-Cas platform for precision antimicrobials. Locus designs and creates novel CRISPR RNAs (guide RNAs) that direct the powerful CRISPR-Cas3 nuclease to target and kill cells by irreversibly destroying DNA. The irreversible destruction of DNA is the primary differentiator between Cas3 and the more widely known Cas9 enzyme used for gene editing and repair. Locus has exclusive rights to the use of the novel Type I CRISPR-Cas3 platform, a programmable system that destroys DNA efficiently, specifically and beyond repair.
The Locus Biosciences platform enables the design and development of powerful antimicrobials that avoid currently known antibiotic resistance mechanisms while leaving non-target bacteria unharmed. Built on prokaryotic technology for prokaryotic targets, Locus is advancing its platform to create therapeutics for critical disease areas ranging from resistant bacterial infections to the microbiome.