Molecular Diagnostics Webinar Series 2026

Brian Ward holds a Ph.D. in Physical Organic Chemistry from Michigan State University and completed his postdoctoral training in Quantitative DNase I Footprinting at Syracuse University. With nearly four decades of experience in Molecular R&D, Brian has built deep expertise in nucleic acid chemistry, amplification technologies, and sequencing technologies. His long tenure reflects a sustained commitment to advancing the science that underpins modern molecular biology workflows.

Dr. Vikas Palhan is a senior scientist in the Diagnostics and Regulated Materials (DxRM) group in St. Louis, MO, USA. He joined in 2007 and over the last 19 years has developed several kits for Epigenetics, Molecular Diagnostics research such as ChIP, RIP, ChIRP, MagPrep, and DNA-free purification of molecular enzymes like Taq Pol, high temp RT, RI, UDG, etc. Collaborating with Biorad he has recently developed automated multi-dimensional protein purification workflows for efficient purification of ultra pure molecular diagnostics enzymes. Prior to joining us, Vikas did his postdoc at the Rockefeller University, New York in Bob Roeder’s lab working on transcription regulation at the chromatin level in human cell-free systems. Being a biochemist by training he purified and characterized the human STAGA coactivator complex and discovered its role in the neurodegenerative disease Spinocerebellar ataxia 7 (SCA7); for which he was awarded the Hereditary Disease Foundation fellowship. Vikas did his doctoral studies at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India working on the biotechnological applications of the silkworm baculovirus. He has 4 awarded patents and several publications to his name.

Matthew is the global product training manager for the Diagnostic and Regulated Materials Division. For the last 15 years, he has created and run hands-on wet lab workshops, conferences, webinars, and internal training programs on a wide range of life science technologies. In addition to his training role, Matthew works directly with IVD and diagnostic assay manufacturers to conduct supply chain risk assessments, helping customers identify critical raw materials, evaluate supplier quality levels, and implement proactive risk mitigation strategies across their product development lifecycle. He holds degrees from Michigan State University (Zoology, B.Sc.) and the University of Hawaii at Manoa (Cell and Molecular Biology, Ph.D.).