Nanopore origins

Biography

Mark Akeson is Professor Emeritus (recalled) in the Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is affiliated with the UCSC Genomics Institute and the UCSC Center for the Molecular Biology of RNA. Beginning in 1996, Mark helped to pioneer nanopore sequencing. His current focus is optimization of nanopore technology for characterizing RNA in its native state. Professor Akeson is an Oxford Nanopore Technologies consultant and shareholder.

Biography

After studying Chemistry at the University of Oxford and completing a DPhil in Biochemistry, Spike started working for the intellectual property investment business “IP Group” in 2001 as an early employee. He ultimately led its Life Sciences group, and was responsible for the formation of Oxford Nanopore Technologies during that time. Gordon persuaded Spike to join Oxford Nanopore full time at the start of 2006, leading the Corporate and Business development function, and now he is the company’s Chief Strategy Officer.

Biography

Hagan Bayley is the Professor of Chemical Biology at the University of Oxford. A major interest of his laboratory is the development of engineered protein nanopores for stochastic detection, including single-molecule covalent chemistry and ultrarapid biopolymer sequencing. Recently, the Bayley laboratory has developed techniques for the fabrication of 3D tissues, both living and synthetic. In 2005, Professor Bayley founded Oxford Nanopore, which has manufactured the portable MinION and other DNA/RNA sequencers.