Connect with ABB
This is a community based website and as such we aim to facilitate communication with our clients, visitors and those interested in our practice areas, particularly those with interest in or located in Asia-Pacific.
AsiaBiobusiness account, tweeted by Andrew Powell, CEO
Asia Centre for Risk Communications
Risk Communications account, tweeted by Andrew Roberts
ABB Forum
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The Asia Biobusiness Team
Asia BioBusiness understands the value of its most valuable asset, its personnel. As a consulting agency where client interaction and knowledge transfer is so essential, our expertise and experience across our practice areas and in the service areas in which we function is they key asset we rely upon day-in day-out to see us through our training courses, consultations, briefings and other engagements.
AsiaBiobusiness Personnel
Professor Paul Teng—Chairman
Professor Teng is currently Dean of Graduate Programs at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Professor Teng was formerly Deputy Director-General (Research) of the World Fish Center based in Malaysia. He also worked for Monsanto Company (1999-2002) as Asia Pacific Director of Science & Technology, and then Asia Vice-President for Public Affairs.
Prior to this he was with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines, as its Program Leader for Cross-ecosystems Research, (1991-1998) and its Integrated Pest Management Coordinator (1987-1990). Between 1978-1987, Professor Teng was at the University of Minnesota, U.S.A., respectively as Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, then Professor of Plant Pathology. Between 1989-90 he was at the University of Hawaii, as Professor and Department Chair, Plant Pathology. He has also been adjunct professor at three Asian universities and two U.S. universities.
Dr Andrew Powell—CEO
Andrew Powell graduated from the University of Edinburgh with honours in Biology and obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Calgary, Canada. He has held research and academic positions at the University of Guelph, Canada, the National Institute for Health Sciences in Tokyo, and Tsukuba, Japan and the National University of Singapore.
From 1994 to 2005 he has worked as a consultant assisting a wide range of clients (e.g. Quintiles, Syngenta, Agrium, CIDA, Enterprise Ireland, GTZ, CropLife Asia, Canadian Government) in their activities in biotechnology across East Asia.
His most recent assignment in ABB was to act as a resource person on the Asia Productivity Organization Multi-country Observational Study Mission on Applications of Biotechnology in the Production of High-value Crops in Taiwan.
He has considerable experience in stakeholder dialogues, facilitations and public fora across the region and in Australia, and is invited regularly to chair conference sessions at global technology conferences.
Over the last 5 years he has been active in area of Risk Communication, conducting training and offering advice to both public and private sector clients. He is the co-author with Dr Andrew Roberts of "The Lowdown: Risk Communications, Dodging the Bullet in Controversy and Crisis" published by Creative Content Digital, London and available via iTunes, Audible, and as an eBook (launch September 2010).
He is on the Advisory Committee of The Scientific American / BioIndustry Organization Worldview Publication.
Associates
Dr Margarita Escaler
A biotechnologist by training, she obtained her undergraduate degree from Imperial College of Science and Technology in London, UK in 1995. She then continued her studies at a postgraduate level in East Anglia where she obtained her PhD from the John Innes Center in 1999. Her work at the Virology department contributed to broadening the current knowledge in the field of plant virus-host interactions. After 11 years in Europe, she returned home to the Philippines, where she joined the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), a non-for-profit international organization that facilitates the transfer of new agricultural biotechnologies to developing countries. She spent six and a half years with ISAAA and helped establish and conceptualize its global knowledge sharing initiative and coordinated and managed its network of Biotechnology Information Centers in Asia, Latin America and Africa. In that capacity she worked with a number of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) dealing with social and development issues that impact economic development.
Most recently, she was a Program Director at Evolve24, a US-based business analytics and research firm specializing in the measurement of perception, reputation and risk. She analyzed traditional and social media to determine clients’ overall information landscape and provide quantitative metrics that let clients measure and report the value of their marketing and communication efforts.
Margarita has skills in both scientific and non-technical communication including publications in peer-reviewed academic journals, development of semi-technical and popular reading materials, presentations in international and regional conferences and workshops. She also has experience in project management, fund raising and human resource development including language instruction and management training. She has extensive travel experience, fluency of several languages and excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
Margarita is a native of the Philippines but currently lives with her family in Singapore.
Dr Guy Heathers
Guy obtained his Ph.D in cardiovascular research from the University of Bath, UK and completed post-doctoral research at Washington University Medical School, St. Louis, USA. Guy moved into the commercial sector by joining Hoffmann-La Roche as a Senior Scientist in the cardiovascular drug discovery department in New Jersey, USA. After almost seven years and progression through drug discovery departments of Metabolic Diseases, Bronchopulmonary Research, and Inflammation & Autoimmune Diseases, Guy moved into the business development arena with a move to Cancer Research Campaign Technology Ltd in London in 1995.
Guy was instrumental in the completion of a number of successful business development projects, including the licensing of the BRCA2 gene and the establishment of the biotech start-ups Cyclacel Ltd in 1996 and KuDOS Pharmaceuticals Ltd in 1997, Subsequently, as Head of Business Development Guy expanded the business of Cancer Research Campaign Technology Ltd (CRV), initially in the UK and latterly in Europe, by establishing the subsidiary company, Cancer Research Ventures Ltd in 1998. Transferring to CRV as Chief Operating Officer, Guy completed the establishment of two more biotech start-ups, Crusade Labs Ltd in 1999 and Qugen Therapeutics Pte Ltd in 2000.
CRV joined forces with the National Cancer Centre of Singapore and Temasek Holdings Ltd of Singapore to form Biotech Research Ventures Pte Ltd (BRV) in 2001 to bring biotechnology business development expertise and services to Singapore and the Asian region. As BRV's Chief Executive Officer Guy coordinated the establishment / development of, Agenica Research Pte. Ltd., Systome Therapeutics Pte. Ltd., Qugen Pte. Ltd. and pSiOncology Pte Ltd.
Mr Ho Nai Kin
Mr. Ho is an agricultural development specialist in irrigated rice-based environments and has over 30 years on the ground experience in Asia in rice cultivation. His areas of expertise include rice agronomy, crop protection, integrated weed management, environmental management, agricultural extension and training, and rural cooperative management. For much of the last thirty years Mr. Ho has worked with the Muda Agricultural Development Authority as a Senior Agronomist. He has also served as a consultant to both multinational and local industry and has been a steering member of the Improved Weed Management in the Asia / Pacific Region Committee for the FAO. Most recently he has worked as Planner and Implementer for the UNDP-GEF Small Grants Program on an integrated project related to conservation and sustainable use of agro-biodiversity.
He is also a highly regarded science translator including translations of biotechnology texts published in Mandarin for the Chinese market.
Professor Julian Adams
Julian Adams has a Ph.D. in Agricultural Genetics from the University of California at Davis, awarded in 1969, and for more than 38 years, has been carrying out, and directing research in molecular genetics, population genetics, and molecular microbiology. He was Chair of the Biology department from 1996–2001; a large department comprised of some 60 faculty. Since the late 1980s he have served on numerous proposal review panels for both NIH and USDA, and was Chair of the Genetics study section of NIH from 1995–1997. He lectures on the applications of modern genetics and biotechnology to agriculture, and on world-wide agricultural biotechnology policy. He has received a number of awards throughout his career, including Alexander von Humboldt, Fulbright, Jefferson and NATO Fellowships. In addition, he was a Resident Fellow at the Rockefeller Institute in Bellagio, Italy, and a Senior Fellow in the Michigan Society of Fellows.
Since 2004 he has worked with USAID on agricultural biotechnology projects, principally in Asia and particularly with two multilateral organizations APEC and ASEAN. He has been an invited speaker at a number of APEC and ASEAN conferences and workshops, as well as organized workshops and conferences for these entities. During these last 5 years he has worked extensively with different offices and bureaus within the State Department and USAID, but also with other US Government Departments, such as USDA, USTR, EPA and DOE. His work within USAID has also given him extensive opportunity to work with USAID Missions principally those in South East Asia.
Dr Andrew Roberts
Andrew Roberts is a scientific communications specialist working as partner in a Bangkok-based communications agency. Andrew is also a graphic designer, web/iPhone/Blackberry developer and administrator for this website. Andrew has worked extensively in communications in the seed and crop protection industries consulting with CropLife Asia, CropLife International, and various leading companies of the plant science and pharmaceutical industries. Recently Andrew formed a communications agency focussing on marketing, branding, and strategic communications for education and non-profit organsations. In 2010, Andrew collaborated with Andrew Powell to produce a book on risk communications, "The Lowdown: Risk Communications, Dodging the Bullet in Controversy and Crisis" published by Creative Content Digital, London and available via iTunes, Audible, and as an eBook (launch September 2010).
Dr Rattanawan Mungkung
Rattanawan Mungkung has a PhD in Environmental Strategy from Centre for Environmental Strategy (CES), University of Surrey, UK with a particular focus on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Aquaculture. Her main research areas are related to LCA applications for sustainable consumption and production of food products, including Certification/Labelling systems (e.g. Carbon Footprint Label, EU Flower, Thai Green Label, GLOBALG.A.P., Organic, FairTrade, ACC, GAP/CoC).
She has previous experiences providing technical consultations to various industries: food (shrimps, fish, vegetables), food packaging (stand-up pouch, retort pouch, steel can), textile (silk, cotton, nylon), and building materials (ceramic tile). She was involved in several international projects, such as the EC-Thailand Cooperation Facility (European Commission), INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, France), GTZ and PTB (Germany), SEAFDEC (South East Asia Fisheries Development Centre), SIDA (Sweden), NACA (Network of Aquaculture Centre for Asia-Pacific) & FAO (Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations).