Meet the minds behind SAGE™ Labs.

Dr. Edward Weinstein is the current Director of SAGE Labs. Prior to his current assignment, he managed scientific operations for the cutting-edge RNAi business within Sigma-Aldrich®.

Before joining Sigma-Aldrich in 2005, Weinstein managed the Molecular Profiling portfolio within Merck & Company’s Oncology franchise. His pharmaceutical research experience also includes a Senior Scientist position at Pfizer, Inc.

Edward received his master’s in medical science from Harvard Medical School and his doctorate in genetics from Harvard University, where he developed numerous mouse models of mammary gland carcinoma.

Phil Simmons leads the marketing and business development functions for SAGE Labs, a Sigma Life Science initiative. Before joining SAGE Labs in 2008, Phil was responsible for the launch and commercialization of the CompoZr™ ZFN technology platform, the basis for SAGE Labs’ genetic engineering program.

Simmons’ previous experience includes Product Management and Business Development roles at Incyte Genomics and Xenogen Biosciences (now Caliper Life Sciences), where he was instrumental in expanding both companies’ business in the transgenics services sector.

Phil holds a bachelor’s in biochemistry from the University of Missouri and a master’s in business administration from Webster University in St. Louis, MO.

Dr. Xiaoxia Cui joined SAGE Labs in 2009 and manages a dedicated team of specialists focused on creating and producing next-generation transgenic research models using CompoZr™ ZFN and RNAi technologies.

Prior to joining SAGE Labs, Cui spent four years in R&D developing gene targeting tools using group II introns and zinc finger nucleases. Her research background is in protein/RNA interactions in group II intron splicing and mobility.

Cui earned her master’s in basic medical sciences from the University of Alabama-Birmingham, followed by a doctorate in molecular biology from the University of Texas in Austin.

Jason joined SAGE in April 2009 to lead a dedicated team focused on creating and producing new and custom-generated research animal models using Sigma’s CompoZr™ ZFN and RNAi technologies. Jason holds a bachelor’s in biology from the University of Southern Illinois Edwardsville and a master’s in biology with an emphasis in cellular and molecular biology from Washington University.

At Washington University, Jason helped manage Dr. Tim Ley’s lab, working on increasing homologous recombination efficiencies in mouse embryonic stem cells for the correction of gene defects. In 2007 he went on to work at Pfizer in the Inflammation Pathways Group, characterizing inflammation animal models and developing new targets for Pfizer's drug development portfolio.

Kristen Bettinger joined SAGE Labs in 2009 and her role includes key liaison to the R&D community, defining and commercializing preclinical research models.

During her time with Sigma-Aldrich, Bettinger has helped manage the custom shRNA libraries from the RNAi Consortium and has held positions in research and development working on emerging technologies and plant biotechnology, where she was a co-recipient of two patents for the invention and development of a novel cloning system.

Bettinger holds a bachelor’s in biology with a focus on genetic engineering from the University of Southern Illinois, Edwardsville.

Ken Boschert, DVM, DACLAM is the Associate Director of the Division of Comparative Medicine and a Research Assistant Professor of Medicine at Washington University. He is the attending veterinarian for transgenic rodent and biohazard facilities. Ken has 25 years of experience in laboratory animal medicine. He is a member of and/or holds committee appointments in AALAS, ACLAM, ASLAP, MVMA, and AVMA.

In addition to his impressive portfolio of published works, Ken also created NetVet Veterinary Resources, the Electronic Zoo and Compmed, among many other distinguished online contributions. Most recently, he wrote the laboratory rodent chapter for the Merck Veterinary Manual.