Founding Partners

Phil Robinson

Phil Robinson is the Managing Director and co-founder of KBiosciences ltd, UK. His career has spanned over 25 years working in a number of leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, where he has been involved in the development of a number of molecular biology technologies currently used in numerous laboratories across the world.

Phil’s career and expertise has grown from a bench technician, through an R&D scientist, to a Principal Scientist and Head of Technology Development, Genetics at GlaxoSmithKline. In September 2002 he co-founded KBiosciences ltd, who have pioneered high quality SNP genotyping for the Research market. His expertise in Genotyping technology, Laboratory logistics and automation complement perfectly Doron’s medical backgrounds.

Doron M. Behar M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Doron Behar graduated from a specialization program in Internal Medicine and Critical Care Medicine in Rambam Medical Center, Haifa Israel. He also obtained his PhD through the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, in the field of Population Genetics.

Doron Behar has multi-year background experience in the development of genetic testing for the public using a direct internet based customer approach. He serves as the chief mtDNA scientist in the world-leading genetic genealogy company, Family Tree DNA, and as an associate scientist for the Genographic Project of the National Geographic Society and IBM. During the course of his work he gained expertise in massive genotyping, DNA analysis and quality reassurance. His primary interest is in developing robust, low-priced genetic testing to the general public that will allow the hope of responsible personalized genetic medicine to any individual worldwide. His work focused on the research of DNA variations of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome in Jewish and Near Eastern populations and as such he co-authored numerous peer-reviewed publications on the subject.

Bennett Greenspan

In 1980 Greenspan founded Industrial Photographic Supply-Houston and in 1985 the company made INC Magazine’s list of fastest growing privately held companies in America. The company was sold to a publicly traded firm in 1996.

A life-long genealogy enthusiast, Mr. Greenspan founded Family Tree DNA in April of 2000. Family Tree DNA was the first company in the world to offer DNA testing for genealogy, a field that has grown considerable as the genealogy community saw the benefits of this testing based approach to solving paper trail roadblocks in their genealogical research.

What used to be a hobby turned into another business, and from this paring of Genealogy and Genetic validation and confirmation the ‘Genetic Genealogy’ industry was born. In 2002 the company made the connection between genealogy and Anthropology - the study of man from a deeper time perspective. The adoption of this relationship between genealogy marker and Anthropology has now been adopted by all competitors in the Genetic Genealogy field.

The public acceptance of DNA testing for genealogy and the continual requests from genealogy customers who sought a proven direct to Consumer model convinced Greenspan to become involved in this totally new venture.

Max Blankfeld

With an academic background spanning from Aeronautical Engineering to Political Sciences, Max Blankfeld found his true vocation after graduating summa cum laude with a BBA from Fundação Getúlio Vargas in Brazil. After moving to Houston, Texas in 1991, he completed his MBA at Rice University, majoring in Finance, Marketing and Entrepreneurship.

Before coming to the United States, Blankfeld held top management positions at publicly traded companies, where he was responsible for operations and growth strategies. During his years in the US, he started and managed a company in the area of consumer products, until he sold it in 2001.

Along with Bennett Greenspan, he is a managing partner at Family Tree DNA.

Genetic Counseling Task Group

Laura Hercher

Laura Hercher is the Faculty Specialist for Social Issues at the Joan H. Marks Program in Human Genetics at Sarah Lawrence College, where her teaching and research focus on legal and ethical issues. Her writing has examined the social implications of incorporating contemporary genetic technology into clinical practice. Ms. Hercher received a BA from Colgate University, an MA in English Literature from Columbia University and an MS in Human Genetics from Sarah Lawrence College. She is a board-certified genetic counselor and a member of the National Association of Genetic Counselors.

 

Karlla Brigatti

Karlla graduated with an M.S. in Human Genetics from Sarah Lawrence College after having completed, magna cum laudeand with highest departmental honors, her B.S. in Molecular Biology from the University of Pittsburgh. She has extensive experience in prenatal, pediatric, and adult genetics, and has worked at prestigious academic medical centers in New York and Philadelphia. She is Board Certified by the American Board of Genetic Counseling. Fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, and English, and proficient in Italian, Karlla has co-authored several academic papers and received several awards and honors in her field.