Russell J Howard

Dr Howard is an Australian scientist, executive manager and entrepreneur. He was a pioneer in molecular parasitology and commercialization of "DNA Shuffling". He is an inventor of 9 patents and has over 140 scientific publications. After his PhD in biochemistry from the University of Melbourne, he held positions at several research laboratories, including the National Institutes of Health in the USA where he gained tenure. In industry, Dr. Howard worked at Schering-Plough's DNAX Research Institute in Palo Alto, CA; was the President and Scientific Director of Affymax, Inc. and co-founder and CEO of Maxygen, Inc. After its spin-out from GlaxoWellcome, as Maxygen's CEO, Dr. Howard led its IPO on NASDAQ and a secondary offering, raising US$ 260 million. Maxygen developed and partnered dozens of technology applications and products over 12 years of his tenure as CEO. After leaving Maxygen in 2008, he started the Cleantech company NovoNutrients Inc. (formerly Oakbio, Inc.) and remains involved in several innovative companies in the USA and Australia. He is currently Executive Chairman of NeuClone Pty Ltd.