- Downhill Skiing
- Racquetball
- Fishing/Boating
Anthony Person
Minneapolis,MN
Summary
Dynamic leader with a proven track record at R&D Systems, driving $200 million in revenue through innovative protein product lines. Expert in business development and relationship building, I fostered a culture of continuous improvement, enhancing team performance and achieving significant growth. Skilled in strategic negotiations and financial planning, I deliver results that exceed expectations.
Overview
18
18
years of professional experience
Work History
Vice President, Protein Business Unit
R&D Systems
08.2023 - 09.2025
Business Unit lead in charge of 80 employees and responsible for $200 million in revenue
- Established a new AI Modified protein product line developed with and utilizing mammalian display, yeast display, highly complex DNA expression libraries, generative AI, and rationale protein design
- Collaborated with senior management to develop strategic initiatives and long term goals.
- Negotiated high-value contracts that maximized profitability while mitigating risks for the organization.
- Managed financial planning and budgeting processes, ensuring fiscal responsibility and maximizing return on investments.
- Developed new revenue streams by identifying growth opportunities and forging strategic partnerships with key industry players.
- Established a culture of continuous improvement, fostering innovation and driving sustainable growth across the organization.
- Leveraged technology to automate workflows and streamline processes, resulting in increased productivity and cost savings across the organization.
- Championed talent development programs, promoting employee engagement and retention while enhancing overall workforce capabilities.
- Increased company growth through collaboration with sales and marketing departments.
- Launched new products or services in various markets by conducting comprehensive market research studies and tailoring offerings based on customer needs analysis.
- Established and maintained strong relationships with customers, vendors and strategic partners.
- Cultivated company-wide culture of innovation and collaboration.
Sr. Director, Protein Business Unit
R&D Systems
08.2018 - 08.2023
Business Unit lead in charge of 65 employees and responsible for $100 million in revenue
- Optimized project timelines by effectively delegating tasks and prioritizing workload among team members.
- Cultivated a culture of innovation by promoting creative thinking and encouraging employees to take calculated risks in pursuit of solutions.
- Developed strong relationships with key industry partners, fostering collaboration and mutual growth opportunities.
- Directed design and execution of business transformation initiatives to drive performance, profit optimization and growth opportunities.
- Leveraged professional networks and industry knowledge to strengthen client relationships.
- Successfully managed budgets and allocated resources to maximize productivity and profitability.
- Set aggressive targets for employees to drive company success and strengthen motivation.
Associate Director, Protein Development
R&D Systems
08.2017 - 08.2018
- Led Molecular Biology and Cell Culture protein development teams of 30 personnel focused on developing new recombinant proteins like growth factors, cytokines, enzymes, and cell surface receptors.
- Fostered a culture of continuous improvement by encouraging staff to share innovative ideas and providing resources for professional development.
- Prioritized tasks and allocated resources appropriately to keep teams focused and productive.
- Assisted senior leadership in managing all aspects of operations.
- Set aggressive targets for employees to drive company success and strengthen motivation.
Bioassay Development Manager
R&D Systems
10.2013 - 08.2017
- Managed a group of 5 bioassay development scientists and research associates to develop new cell-based bioassays to test and release new recombinant protein products to market
- Developed industry-leading Wnt reporter assays in HEK293 cells with every combination of stablly expressed Wnt receptors (Frizzleds 1-10, LRP5/6, LGR4-6)
- Released hundreds of new research grade recombinant proteins to market with new bioassays to test function.
- Presented scientific posters multiple times each year at scientific conferences to help promote and sell new protein products.
R&D Scientist
CellScript, LLC.
01.2009 - 07.2013
- Developed novel mRNA technologies utilizing modified nucleosides to reprogram somatic cells to pluripoency, and to transdifferentiate cells with mRNA. Collaborated with Nobel Laureates Kati Kariko and Drew Weissman to patent mRNA reprogramming of somatic tissue to iPSCs using modified nucleosides.
- Developed a method using RNaseIII to remove unwanted dsRNA from in vitro transcribed mRNA resulting in significant enhancement of mRNA translation resulting in substantially improved mRNA cellular reprogramming.
Bioassay Scientist
R&D Systems
07.2007 - 07.2009
- Developed novel bioassays to release recombinant cytokines, growth factors, and receptors to market
- Performed complex troubleshooting and assisted in leading initiatives to solve challenging scientific problems with assays or instrumentation.
- Trained new employees on areas of technical expertise and compliance issues relevant to lab setting.
- Designed experiments using appropriate controls and variables, resulting in valid conclusions being drawn from collected data.
- Implemented quality control measures to ensure the accuracy and reliability of experimental results.
Education
Postdoctoral Fellowship - Genetics, Cell Biology, And Development
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN07-2007
Ph.D. - Cell Biology And Anatomy
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ12-2004
Bachelor of Science - Biology And Chemistry
University of St. Thomas
Saint Paul, MN05-1997
Skills
- Team leadership
- Established innovation leader
- Business development
- Results-driven
- Price structuring
- Public speaking
- Forecasting
- Proposal writing
- Business growth and marketing strategies
- Relationship building
- Decision-making
- Critical thinking
Accomplishments
- Doubled Protein Business unit revenues from 2018 to 2022 growing them from $100 million to $200 million
- Built a new animal free E. coli GMP production facility in 2020 in St. Paul, MN to increase our capacity and to improve product quality to meet our rapidly expanding cell therapy customer demands.
- Created a designer protein group to develop and patent novel recombinant proteins with differential receptor engagement and affinity, heat stability, or hyperactivity to better enable next generation cellular therapies. Complex library design, mammalian display, yeast display, Generative AI, and physics based rationale design were all used to create this new designer protein product line.
- Consistently visited customers and created new business opportunities through custom protein supply for biopharma and academic customers (around $6M in new business/year)
- Established industry leading innovation and sound execution of NPD pipelines
Interests
Timeline
Vice President, Protein Business Unit
R&D Systems
08.2023 - 09.2025
Sr. Director, Protein Business Unit
R&D Systems
08.2018 - 08.2023
Associate Director, Protein Development
R&D Systems
08.2017 - 08.2018
Bioassay Development Manager
R&D Systems
10.2013 - 08.2017
R&D Scientist
CellScript, LLC.
01.2009 - 07.2013
Bioassay Scientist
R&D Systems
07.2007 - 07.2009
Postdoctoral Fellowship - Genetics, Cell Biology, And Development
University of Minnesota
Ph.D. - Cell Biology And Anatomy
University of Arizona
Bachelor of Science - Biology And Chemistry
University of St. Thomas
Publications and Patents
Publications
Detecting substrate glycans of fucosyltransferases with fluorophore-conjugated fucose and methods for glycan electrophoresis. Wu ZL, Whittaker M, Ertelt JM, Person AD, Kalabokis V. Glycobiology. 2020 Dec 9;30(12):970-980. doi: 10.1093/glycob/cwaa030. PMID: 32248235
Differential distribution of N- and O-Glycans and variable expression of sialyl-T antigen on HeLa cells-Revealed by direct fluorescent glycan imaging. Wu ZL, Person AD, Zou Y, Burton AJ, Singh R, Burroughs B, Fryxell D, Tatge TJ, Manning T, Wu G, Swift KAD, Kalabokis V. Glycobiology. 2020 Jul 20;30(7):454-462. doi: 10.1093/glycob/cwz110. PMID: 31897478
Direct fluorescent glycan labeling with recombinant sialyltransferases. Wu ZL, Person AD, Burton AJ, Singh R, Burroughs B, Fryxell D, Tatge TJ, Manning T, Wu G, Swift KAD, Kalabokis V. Glycobiology. 2019 Oct 21;29(11):750-754. doi: 10.1093/glycob/cwz058. PMID: 31361010
Imaging specific cellular glycan structures using glycosyltransferases via click chemistry. Wu ZL, Person AD, Anderson M, Burroughs B, Tatge T, Khatri K, Zou Y, Wang L, Geders T, Zaia J, Sackstein R. Glycobiology. 2018 Feb 1;28(2):69-79. doi: 10.1093/glycob/cwx095. PMID: 29186441
The lineage-specific gene ponzr1 is essential for zebrafish pronephric and pharyngeal arch development. Bedell VM, Person AD, Larson JD, McLoon A, Balciunas D, Clark KJ, Neff KI, Nelson KE, Bill BR, Schimmenti LA, Beiraghi S, Ekker SC. Development. 2012 Feb;139(4):793-804. doi: 10.1242/dev.071720. PMID: 22274699
WNT5A mutations in patients with autosomal dominant Robinow syndrome. Person AD, Beiraghi S, Sieben CM, Hermanson S, Neumann AN, Robu ME, Schleiffarth JR, Billington CJ Jr, van Bokhoven H, Hoogeboom JM, Mazzeu JF, Petryk A, Schimmenti LA, Brunner HG, Ekker SC, Lohr JL. Dev Dyn. 2010 Jan;239(1):327-37. doi: 10.1002/dvdy.22156. PMID: 19918918
Wnt5a is required for cardiac outflow tract septation in mice. Schleiffarth JR, Person AD, Martinsen BJ, Sukovich DJ, Neumann A, Baker CV, Lohr JL, Cornfield DN, Ekker SC, Petryk A. Pediatr Res. 2007 Apr;61(4):386-91. doi: 10.1203/pdr.0b013e3180323810. PMID: 17515859
Embryonic salivary gland dysmorphogenesis in Twisted gastrulation deficient mice. Melnick M, Petryk A, Abichaker G, Witcher D, Person AD, Jaskoll T. Arch Oral Biol. 2006 May;51(5):433-8. doi: 10.1016/j.archoralbio.2005.09.010. Epub 2005 Nov 14. PMID: 16289463
Cell biology of cardiac cushion development. Person AD, Klewer SE, Runyan RB. Int Rev Cytol. 2005;243:287-335. doi: 10.1016/S0074-7696(05)43005-3. PMID: 15797462
Frzb modulates Wnt-9a-mediated beta-catenin signaling during avian atrioventricular cardiac cushion development. Person AD, Garriock RJ, Krieg PA, Runyan RB, Klewer SE. Dev Biol. 2005 Feb 1;278(1):35-48. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2004.10.013. PMID: 15649459
Temporal and distinct TGFbeta ligand requirements during mouse and avian endocardial cushion morphogenesis. Camenisch TD, Molin DG, Person A, Runyan RB, Gittenberger-de Groot AC, McDonald JA, Klewer SE. Dev Biol. 2002 Aug 1;248(1):170-81. doi: 10.1006/dbio.2002.0731. PMID: 12142029
Patents
US9371511B2, US11739300B2, US11028370B2, US100006007B2, US9371511B2, US9163213B2, US9012219B2, RNA preparations comprising purified modified RNA for reprogramming cells
US9862926B2, US10793831B2, US9862926B2, Inhibition of innate immune response
US11046738B2, Wnt/sFRP complexes, Wnt-containing compositions, Wnt-expressing cells, and methods of making, purifying, and using same
US12059479B2, US11135314B2, US10201620B2, Making and using in vitro-synthesized ssRNA for introducing into mammalian cells to induce a biological or biochemical effect
US9371544B2, US8808982B2, Compositions and methods for reprogramming eukaryotic cells
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