Andy obtained his PhD and postdoctoral experience in molecular biology and microbiology at King's College London. Before joining Nature Biotechnology in 1996, he was Editor of Current Opinion in Biotechnology for four years. He has written numerous articles and editorials on science and technology for the popular media, including The Economist, and for trade publications. As well as frequently speaking on biotechnology issues at international meetings, he regularly organizes conferences and symposia for Nature Publishing Group in the biotechnology area.Contact: a.marshall#natureny.com*
Laura DeFrancesco, Senior editor (Pasadena)
Laura received her PhD at the University of California, San Diego in cell biology and did postdoctoral work on mitochondrial nucleic acids at California Institute of Technology. After doing research for 10 years at the City of Hope National Cancer Center and the University of California, Los Angeles on various topics in animal and cell science, she became the founding editor of the LabConsumer section of The Scientist. Following that, she was managing editor of the web-based life science portal, BioResearch Online, and later went on to write for several publications, including Nature Medicine, Analytical Chemistry, and BioIT World. She joined the journal in 2003 and is responsible for Features and Reviews.Contact: l.defrancesco#natureny.com*
Kathy Aschheim, Senior editor (San Francisco)
Kathy did her graduate work in the department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University in the laboratory of Thomas Steitz, where she studied DNA and RNA polymerase complexes by X-ray crystallography. She also worked in the laboratory of Steven Smith on structural studies of membrane proteins using solid-state NMR. Before that, Kathy received a PhD in literature from Yale and taught at Northwestern University. She joined the journal in 2001.Contact: k.aschheim#natureny.com*
Michael Francisco, Associate editor (New York)
Michael obtained bachelor's degrees in biotechnology and art history from Rutgers University in 1993, with concentrations in industrial microbiology and ancient Greek sculpture. He is responsible for Nature Biotechnology's Resources, Book Review and Careers sections, and also manages the journal's special projects, including conferences and printed supplements. He joined the journal in 1996.Contact: m.francisco#natureny.com*
Peter Hare, Associate editor (New York)
Peter obtained his PhD at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, where he studied molecular genetic responses of plants to abiotic stresses. He did his postdoctoral work at the Rockefeller University, specifically investigating phytochrome signal transduction and the roles of ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like proteins in plant signaling. He joined Nature Biotechnology in 2005.Contact: p.hare#natureny.com*
Jan-Willem Theunissen, Associate editor (New York)
Jan-Willem Theunissen obtained his licentiate in Biotechnology from the University of Ghent-Belgium in 2000. After completion of a master’s degree in Oncology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he continued his doctoral research at the Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences of Cornell University, in the field of chromosome biology, examining the cellular response to DNA double-strand break damage. Using mouse genetics, cellular and molecular biology, he demonstrated that a highly conserved protein complex, named the Mre11 complex is required for DNA damage-induced checkpoint signaling and apoptosis, genome integrity, embryogenesis, and meiosis. After obtaining his doctoral degree in 2005, Jan-Willem joined the editorial team of Nature Biotechnology.Contact: j.theunissen#natureny.com*
Brady Huggett, Business editor (New York)
Brady received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Wake Forest University and a master's in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to joining Nature as business editor in 2007, he was managing editor at the biotech daily news service BioWorld, and he has also worked as a staff writer for a university research magazine. He has written articles covering all aspects of biotech, and has participated in or moderated panel discussions both in the U.S. and abroad.Contact: b.huggett#natureny.com*
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