Pangea Laboratory Leadership
Beyond our innovative technology or state-of-the-art facility, the core of Pangea Laboratory is a group of passionate individuals who are deeply committed to redefining the future of healthcare diagnostics. Our team is a blend of visionary scientists, dedicated technicians, and compassionate healthcare advocates with a shared purpose: to ensure that every individual has uncompromised access to the best of non-invasive medical testing.
Pangea’s journey began with a simple but profound vision: bridging the diagnostic chasm that exists across various communities. We realized that for healthcare to truly be effective, diagnostic solutions need to be not just accurate, but also accessible and convenient. That’s why our team has poured countless hours into developing groundbreaking remote specimen collection methods and pairing them with innovative non-invasive testing solutions in the fields of oncology and infectious disease.
As we move forward, our goal remains unwavering: to make healthcare more accessible and human-centered.
Management & Board of Directors
John Moore
Larry (Xi-Yu) Jia
Dr. Jia received his medical degree from Suzhou Medical College, China in 1982 and his Masters in Microbiology from the Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Medical Science in 1986. He served as Deputy Chairman of the Institute of Virology before relocating to the USA.
After postdoctoral training in Virology at the University of Utah, he joined the University of California, Irvine faculty where he held numerous research and teaching positions as a virologist.
Among Dr. Jia’s notable contributions to the field of virology was his discovery of the West Nile virus in North America in 1999, highlighting the direct impact of his research on public health.
Dr. Jia founded Pangea Laboratory in 2014 and serves as President. He is also the founder and President of Zymo Research Corporation, the leading biotechnology company in the fields of epigenetics and microbiomics. His companies made significant contributions during the COVID-19 pandemic, innovating next-generation patient sample collection and transportation devices, and supplying over 100 million COVID-19 tests globally.
Yap Ching Chew
Dr. Chew is the Chief Operating Officer of Pangea Laboratory, where she began as a Director in 2015 and guided the clinical testing laboratory to achieve its CLIA certification and CAP accreditation. Since joining Pangea Laboratory, she has played a leading role in the development and clinical validation of our novel diagnostic tests in oncology and infectious diseases.
Prior to this, she held pivotal roles at Zymo Research Corporation, a globally established biotechnology company, entering as a Scientist in 2012 and rising to Director of Epigenetics Technologies by 2014. She led R&D for a wide-ranging product portfolio that included aging and urologic oncology. She received her post-doctoral training at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and received her B.S. in Nutrition from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, where she also earned her M.S., and Ph.D. in Molecular Nutrition.
With over 21 years’ experience in epigenetics and molecular biology, Dr. Chew led the creation of key epigenetic products at Zymo Research Corp., and currently spearheads the development of novel diagnostic testing in oncology and infectious disease at Pangea.
Simon Pratt
Mr. Pratt joined the team in early 2023, bringing over 25 years of experience in clinical diagnostic, commercial, and strategic roles across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. As the Senior Director of Commercialization at Pangea Laboratory, his role is to accelerate product commercialization and partnership development.
After working within the private and public healthcare system as a Medical Laboratory Scientist in New Zealand. He expanded his career in the UK with roles at bioMérieux and Bio-Rad Laboratories, with European product responsibilities, sales management, and business development roles.
Mr. Pratt has chaired North American industry task forces and held directorships with IVD peak bodies across the Asia-Pacific region.
Paolo Piatti
Dr. Piatti is the Chief Scientific Officer at Pangea Laboratory, where he leads the research and development of innovative non-invasive diagnostic tests, with a particular focus on oncology. He joined the company as a Project Manager in 2017.
Dr. Piatti is also the Director of Applied Epigenetics at Zymo Research Corporation, a position he has held since 2014. In this role, he oversees the development of new assays and platforms in areas including oncology, aging, and wellness, and is actively involved in decisions regarding the company’s R&D initiatives.
With over 20 years of experience in molecular biology and epigenetics, Dr. Piatti began his career in genetics in 2003 at the Edmundo Mach Foundation, focusing on plant genetics. He later pursued studies in epigenetics at Innsbruck Medical University, where he earned his PhD studying chromatin remodeling factors in mouse embryogenesis. He holds a Master of Science in Food Biotechnology from the University of Padua and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Biotechnology from Verona University.
Scientists
Anna Nguyen
PhD
Dr. Nguyen is a Scientist at Pangea Laboratory, where she leads the Research and Development Engineering team. Her expertise lies in the fields of Lab-on-a-Chip, Microfluidics, and Point-of-Care testing. Prior to joining Pangea Laboratory, Dr. Nguyen conducted a one-year Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Saskatchewan, College of Agriculture and Bioresources in Canada. She earned her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Waterloo in Canada, with a minor specialization in Nanotechnology. Additionally, Dr. Nguyen earned a B.A.Sc in Electrical Engineering from the State University of New York – Binghamton University.
Kaitlyn Redford
PhD
Paolo Piatti
PhD
Dr. Piatti is a Project Manager at Pangea Laboratory and a Senior Scientist at Zymo Research Corp. He has 19 years of experience in the molecular biology and epigenetic fields. Originally from Italy, Dr. Piatti began his career in epigenetics at the Innsbruck Medical University where he conducted studies on the function of chromatic remodeling factors during mouse embryogenesis. Since then, he has focused his research efforts on the development of molecular and epigenetic-based assays, specifically for the early detection of cancer and other clinical conditions from non-invasive liquid biopsies.