IBRI Names Research Fellow
The Indiana Biosciences Research Institute has named Michael Pugia a research fellow and director of the new Bioanalytics Core Laboratory. He comes to the IBRI following a 30-year career in the biomedical in-vitro diagnostic industry. Pugia contributed to more than 20 new product launches for Bayer and Siemens and spent 15 years as a director of research and development working on next generation analytical and diagnostic technologies in collaboration with leading institutions and companies. His primary research interest is the development of single-cell bioanalytical technology for proteomic biomarkers discovery in the fields of endocrinology and oncology. In 2009, Pugia was awarded the Siemens Inventor of the Year for his work on a miniaturized “lab-on-a-chip” diagnostic tool. He also was recognized with nine Bayer Science and Technology Awards including the Outstanding Bayer Technology Award, the Bayer Corp Quality Excellence Award, and the Near Patient Testing Segment, General Manager Award for Exceptional Leadership. The American Association of Chemistry honored him as the Samuel Natelson Senior Investigator in recognition of outstanding service for the advancement of clinical chemistry, and as the winner of the 1st AI Free Memorial Lectureship. Pugia holds 367 U.S. and foreign patents and has 72 pending patents, and has 55 manuscripts, 13 book chapters and hundreds of conference papers and lectures in a wide variety of chemistry disciplines to his name. He earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from Texas Tech University and his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Clarkson University. While working in industry, he has held adjunct positions as a Visiting Scholar at the University of Notre Dame and as a Clinical Research Professor at the University of Louisville Medical School. Zane Baird will join Pugia’s lab as Staff Scientist. He graduated from Purdue University in 2016 with a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry and holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Southern Utah University.