Stephen Navran, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Stephen Navran is currently Chief Scientific Officer of Synthecon, Inc., a position he has held for 21 years. As CSO of Synthecon, Dr. Navran has overseen the commercial development of the NASA rotating wall vessel (now known as the Rotary Cell Culture System) from it’s early inception as a virtually unknown research tool to it’s present state as the most versatile 3D culture system on the market. During that time, Dr. Navran has secured over $2.3 million in grant funding from NASA, the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation to develop the bioreactor and applications for it. Dr. Navran earned a BS from Carnegie-Mellon University and a Ph.D. from the Ohio State University and spent 14 years at Baylor College of Medicine as a post-doctoral fellow and faculty member in the Department of Medicine, Cardiovascular Sciences Section specializing in vascular biology prior to joining Synthecon.
Robert Schwartz, Ph.D.
Chief Science Officer
Dr. Robert Schwartz is the Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen University Professor in the Department of Biology and Biochemistry at the University of Houston. He is also Director of the Center for Molecular Medicine and Experimental Therapeutics at the University of Houston. Dr. Schwartz earned a B.S. from Brooklyn College and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. Previously he was at Baylor College of Medicine as a professor in the Departments of Cell Biology, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Medicine and Molecular Physiology. Dr. Schwartz is considered one of the world’s leading experts in cardiovascular developmental biology.
William Anderson
Chief Operating Officer
Mr. William Anderson is currently CEO of Synthecon, Inc. During Mr. Anderson’s fourteen year tenure as CEO, he has received numerous awards for growth and leadership including three “Fast Tech Fifty” awards given by the Houston Business Journal recognizing Houston’s fastest-growing, high-tech businesses. Additionally, Mr. Anderson has extensive manufacturing experience and has utilized his expertise to apply for and receive numerous patents for cell culture design and manufacturing. Recently, Mr. Anderson applied his industry knowledge on devices to assist in streamlining a “closed loop” cell culture device that Amgen, Inc. uses as their manufacturing solution for its first-in-class oncolytic melanoma vaccine IMLYGIC. Mr. Anderson is currently a member of the advisory panel at the Houston Technology HTC Life Sciences Acceleration Committee evaluating and assisting new technology ventures with their commercialization opportunities. Mr. Anderson earned a BS from Sam Houston State University.