Steven Herman, Ph.D.

Biotechnology Career

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I've been fortunate to have had an exciting career using cutting edge biotechnology to develop new human diagnostic tests.  Many of the tests I worked on created new medical information and had a positive impact on world public health. I worked in the biotechnology industry at Roche Molecular Systems, Inc., Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., and Luminex Corporation for more than 30 years, developing Polymerase Chain Reaction-based in vitro diagnostic tests for infectious diseases, blood donor screening, oncology and genetic disorders. My first major project was to lead the development of the AMPLICOR HIV-1 MONITOR™ Test, the first FDA-cleared diagnostic test for HIV-1 viral load. The test was used to assess risk for disease progression and response to anti-viral therapy, and it became the standard of care for HIV-infected patients around the world.

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In addition to my work on the AMPLICOR™ HIV-1 MONITOR Test and its upgrades, I directed or worked on the development of many in vitro diagnostic products at Roche Molecular Systems, Bio-Rad Laboratories and Luminex, including:

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• AMPLICOR™ Chlamydia trachomatis Test

• COBAS® AMPLICOR HIV-1 MONITOR Test

• COBAS® TaqMan® HIV-1 Test

• LightCycler® SeptiFast Test

• COBAS AmpliScreen HIV-1, COBAS AmpliScreen HBV and COBAS AmpliScreen HCV

• cobas® TaqScreen MPX Test on the COBAS s201 System

• cobas® TaqScreen WNV Test on the COBAS s201 System

• AmpliChip p53 Test

• COBAS® TaqMan® HIV-1 Test, version 2.0 For Use with The High Pure System

• cobas® HCV GT, HCV Genotyping Test for use on the cobas® 4800 System

• cobas® Factor II and Factor V Test for use on the cobas® 4800 System

• QXDx BCR-ABL %IS Kit

• VERIGENE II Gastrointestinal Flex Assay

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Teaching Career

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I am excited to begin my teaching career as a chemistry teacher at Pittsburg High School, Pittsburg, CA.

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Education

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• Graduate, Teaching Credential program at the College of Education and Allied Studies,
  California State University, East Bay

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• Postdoctoral Fellow, Cell and Developmental Biology
  Roche Institute of Molecular Biology, Nutley, NJ

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• Ph.D., Molecular Microbiology
  Tufts University, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Boston, MA

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• B.A., Biochemistry
  University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA

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