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Jessie Matakis
Director of Marketing
Jessie Matakis
Director of Marketing
Jessie Matakis is a high-performing marketing leader with a broad skill set across all marketing channels. As the Director of Marketing at Fluent BioSciences, Jessie combines execution and a strong business acumen to drive successful commercial launches and maximize brand impact.
With a passion for translating complex technology into customer-centric messaging and simplified solutions, she has a track record of branding, launching, and growing cutting-edge instruments and life science products. Arriving at Fluent after the successful launch of the first tankless nitric oxide delivery system, GENOSYL DS at VERO Biotech, Jessie demonstrates an aptitude for solving customer challenges, driving lead generation and revenue growth.
Brian McKernan
Chief Executive Officer
Brian McKernan
Chief Executive Officer
Prior to his work with Fluent, Brian spent the last 23 years building successful operating businesses, such as Agencourt Biosciences, Agencourt Personal Genomics, Courtagen Life Sciences and Medicinal Genomics. Several of his companies were significant contributors to the NHGRI’s Human Genome Project, as well as key participants in the global effort to curate gene mutation associations for neurological disease conditions. Brian has overseen and managed the implementation of highly efficient manufacturing and services operations, commercial sales organizations and sophisticated bioinformatics development initiatives. Brian is an operating advisor to Arsenal Capital Partners and is a guest speaker at Columbia Business School. He has served as the Chairman of the Board of the Analytical Life Sciences and Diagnostic Association, holds a BA in Computer Sciences, Business Management and Japanese, as well as an MBA in Finance from Columbia Business School.
Robert Meltzer
Senior Director of Applications and Strategic Partnerships
Robert Meltzer
Senior Director of Applications and Strategic Partnerships
Robert brings to Fluent BioSciences over a decade of biomedical engineering and molecular biophysics experience in the development of advanced genomic-analysis technologies for applications in infectious disease, food safety, and cancer diagnostics. Specifically, he shepherds from ideation to implementation of novel technologies that integrate fluorescence detection, microfluidic systems, and sound molecular biochemistry. He served as a staff scientist at US Genomics and then as a senior scientist when that company became Pathogenetix. At Bio-Rad, Robert managed the microfluidics team.
Robert earned a BS from Texas A&M University, Ph.D. from Baylor College of Medicine, and completed his postdoctoral work at University of Alabama, Birmingham.
Kristina Fontanez
SVP of Product Development
Kristina Fontanez
SVP of Product Development
Leveraging her multidisciplinary background in molecular biology and microbiology, Kristina has been a dynamic leader in the development of novel commercial life-science and genomics products including an innovative DNA sequencing platform and multiplex PCR assays for a droplet microfluidics platform. Formerly, she was the principal scientist at Qiagen and, later, a senior scientist at Bio-Rad. She has deep expertise in assay development, biostatistics, bioinformatics, and all facets of the product development process, including agile-development principles.
Kristina obtained a BA from Princeton University and a Ph.D. from Harvard University; she completed postdoctoral work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Sepehr Kiani
Chief Business Development Officer
Sepehr Kiani
Chief Business Development Officer
During his more than 25 years of leading business and technology organizations, Sepehr has helped build and grow multiple companies from startup-to-exit (generating valuations over $100 million) as well as successfully guided large-enterprise organizations. These include Teradyne’s fiber optics business unit (serving as founder, technical, and marketing lead), Helicos BioSciences (chief system architect and head of engineering), and GnuBIO (EVP of product development and as VP & General Manager after acquisition by Bio-Rad). He is a driven, hands-on decision-maker with broad technical, operational, market, and business knowledge. He holds over 40 pending patents in semiconductor automation, fiber optics, optical systems, fluids handling, microfluidics, molecular biology, gene sequencing, and single-cell.
Sepehr received a BS from California Polytechnic, and MS and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT.