Singapore: Axol Bioscience, a biotechnology company, specialising in the use of stem cell technology to manufacture disease relevant cell based assay systems to the drug discovery industry, has appointed Prof Xianmin Zeng as Chief Scientific Officer (CSO).

Prof Zeng is a biologist with over 15 years of academic expertise in the development of stem cell technologies and its applications. A biotech entrepreneur with an extensive list of peer-reviewed publications, she is a well-established and internationally-recognised leader in the creation of disease models for drug discovery.

With Prof Zeng as Axol's CSO, the company will be able to continue to offer highly-validated products and further improve upon their current processes under her expert guidance. As a key opinion leader in the field, she will offer strategic direction to help drive Axol's product development, so as to address some of the vital challenges in the drug discovery industry.

Prof Zeng will continue in her current role as Associate Professor at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato, CA where her group focuses on developing stem cell-based treatments for neurodegenerative disorders. Having not only developed and used induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in drug discovery and to study the pathophysiology of conditions such as Parkinson's disease, her group also refined the process to enhance the safety of these cells so that they may be used in the development of replacement therapies. Prof Zeng carried out her postdoctoral research on human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) at the National Institute of Health and holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from the Technical University of Denmark.

Dr Yichen Shi, CEO, Axol Bioscience said, 'Prof Zeng is recognised globally for her wealth of experience working with both human ESCs and iPSCs. Her insight and expertise in stem cell technologies, drug discovery and neurodegenerative disease modelling will be of enormous value to the innovative work we do here at Axol. We are delighted to have Prof Zeng on board as our CSO and look forward to expanding our portfolio of highly-validated stem cells and services'.