San Diego Chapter Officers Return to Front Page

Melissa Almazan, Executive Chair

Graduated from UC San Diego with a BA in Animal Physiology. Sr. Scientist with expertise in the development and optimization of biological assays for screening compounds and designing automated methods. Melissa has been involved with numerous San Diego biotechnology companies in moving biopharmaceutical products through an R&D pipeline to IND filing and pre-clinical trials and developing diagnostic and biological products from concept to commercial launch.

Contact Information: Melissa Almazan, Senior Scientist,  IRIS Molecular Diagnostics, 2075 Corte Del Nogal, Suite J, Carlsbad, CA 92011, Tel: (760) 438-9923 x7621, Email: Melissa.Almazan@proiris.com

Angela Gray, Treasurer

Angela graduated from UCSD having majored in Biomedical Engineering.  She began her career working as an automation engineer supporting HTS for Novartis.  She later joined High Resolution Engineering in Massachusetts where she focused on designing HTS platforms.  In 2007 she moved to San Diego to open the Western Regional office for HighRes Biosolutions, assuming responsibility for project management and business development.

Contact Information: Angela Gray, Project Manager and Business Development, West Coast, HighRes Biosolutions, 299 Washington Street, Woburn, MA  01801, Tel: (978) 500-8372, Email: AGray@highresbio.com

Ramon Gallo, Chapter Secretary and Webmaster

Ramon joined with The Hamilton Company as their Robotic Solutions Regional Manager in July 2004, ending a successful 9 years with Beckman Coulter, Inc.

Contact Information: The Hamilton Company, 4970 Energy Way, Reno, NV 85902, Tel: 800-648-5950 x713, Email: rgallo@hamiltonrobotics.com
 !    About the LRIG
We are a rapidly growing special interest group focused on laboratory automation. Our membership consists of over 7,397 scientists and engineers. We have Bay Area California, Chesapeake (Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C., and Delaware), Europe, Mid Atlantic, MidWest, New England, Northwest, San Diego, SouthEast, Upstate New York, and Texas chapters. A majority of members are from the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry with others from the chemical, agriculture, cosmetic, food, and specialty industries. Multiple regional meetings are held each year in which our members' experiences in automation are presented. Among the topics discussed are the uses of laboratory robotics in high throughput screening, drug discovery, combinatorial chemistry, chemical synthesis, compound purification, compound distribution, data management, pharmaceutical dosage form sample preparation, dissolution testing, bioanalytical technology, chemical analysis, solid phase extraction, validation, and product formulation. A typical meeting consists of a social period followed by two or three presentations with discussions afterward. Posters are viewed during the social period. Job openings may be posted or announced. Technology Exhibitions are held to allow automation providers to present their products to the group. We are a non-profit group. No dues are collected. To become a member, fill out the Sign-Up Form.