LexaGene says Dr Jane Sykes, executive director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis has joined its board

LexaGene Holdings Inc has announced that Dr Jane Sykes, executive director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) has joined the company’s board of directors.

For more than 20 years, the company noted, Dr Sykes has held numerous positions at UC Davis including Chief Veterinary Medical Officer/Associate Dean of Veterinary Medical Center Operations, Director of Small Animal Clinical Services, and Infection Control Officer for the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. 

In a statement, Dr Jack Regan, LexaGene’s CEO and founder commented: “Dr. Sykes an entrepreneurial leader, whose education and focus on animal care, including infectious diseases, will be a tremendous asset to our company, our science, and our future. Her deep experience, academic acumen, and veterinary perspective make her the perfect LexaGene champion. She will be an excellent resource and partner to our company as we continue to scale our business and make headway bringing in-clinic diagnostic PCR testing to veterinary practices across the country.”

READ: LexaGene Holdings announces expansion of biopharma contamination panel by adding biothreat test to its MiQLab system

Dr Sykes said: “I’m excited to join LexaGene’s Board of Directors. I share Dr. Regan’s convictions and passion for point-of-care PCR testing and the passion for improving companion animal care as we roll out the MiQLab to the veterinary market. I’m thrilled to serve on LexaGene’s board of directors and work alongside the other board members as we improve shareholder value.”

She has also served as the Associate Editor for the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine and is currently volunteering her time as the incoming President for the American College of Veterinary Medicine (ACVIM). Dr Sykes received her veterinary degree and PhD at the University of Melbourne and her MBA from the University of Georgia. She founded the International Society for Companion Animal Infectious Diseases (ISCAID) in 2006.

Dr Sykes board term began on November 8, 2021, when she replaceed Dr Manohar Furtado, who has taken on a new role for a company that requires 100% of his time.

Dr Regan commented: “I’m extremely grateful for Manohar’s mentorship and his contributions to our board and to LexaGene. Manohar has been an excellent board member and I wish him the greatest success in his new endeavor.”

On November 10, 2021, under the company’s omnibus stock option plan, LexaGene announced that its board of directors had granted Dr Sykes 100,000 non-statutory stock options (NSOs) to acquire common shares of the company with a strike price of C$0.66 each. The company said 10% of these stock options vest on the grant date, with 15% vesting every six months thereafter. The expiry of the NSOs is on November 11, 2031.

In addition, the company announced that the board of directors granted Dr Sykes 100,000 restricted share units (RSUs). The company said 10% of these RSUs will vest on May 11, 2023, with 10% vesting each month thereafter, expiring on February 11, 2024.

LexaGene is a molecular diagnostics company that develops molecular diagnostic systems for pathogen detection and genetic testing for other molecular markers for on-site rapid testing in veterinary diagnostics, food safety and for use in open-access markets such as clinical research, agricultural testing, and biodefense. End-users simply need to collect a sample, load it onto the instrument with a sample preparation cartridge, enter sample ID and press ‘go’.

The MiQLab system delivers excellent sensitivity, specificity, and breadth of detection and can return results in approximately two hours. The unique open-access feature is designed for custom testing so that end-users can load their own real-time PCR assays onto the instrument to target any genetic target of interest.

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Story by ProactiveInvestors