Scientific Advisors

Jean Futrell, Ph.D
Senior Battelle Fellow, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Dr. Futrell is Senior Battelle Fellow at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Prior to his appointment at PNNL, he was Director of the Department of Energy's William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL). Dr. Futrell was the Willis F. Harrington Professor of Chemistry at the University of Delaware from 1990 to 1999. From 1986 to 1997, he was Chairman of the Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Delaware.

He is the Chair of the Council for Chemical Research, the group that sets the standards for chemistry research and education in the United States. Dr. Futrell was also the Chairman of the Chemistry Panel of the Commission for Science and Technology Policy for the White House under the Clinton Administration.

Dr. Futrell has served on and advised numerous organizations including the National Research Council, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Senate, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy and many professional societies. He has frequently served on the Review Panels for Small Business Innovation Research programs of several federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense.

Dr. Futrell has published over 347 manuscripts including scientific papers, review articles and book chapters. He is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for John Wiley Publishers of New York and for Elsevier Publishers of the Netherlands.

Dr. Futrell earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley.

Vadim A. Davankov, Dr. Sc.
Head of the Department of Stereochemistry of Sorption Processes, A. N. Nesmeyanov Institute (Russia)

Dr. Davankov is the inventor of the company's adsorbent polymer. He and his colleagues are working closely with the company's medical and scientific personnel in commercializing this technology. Dr. Davankov and his colleagues are active in inventing new polymers which either refine or extend the scope of the current technology.

Dr. Davankov is Head of the Department of Stereochemistry of Sorption Processes at the A. N. Nesmeyanov Institute, one of the most renowned institutes in the Russian Academy of Sciences. He served as Deputy Director of the Institute from 1988 to 1995. Dr. Davankov was presented the Russian Prize for Science and Technology by President Boris Yeltsin in 1996. This is the highest honor for science in Russia, and is awarded only once in a lifetime for outstanding contribution to a field of study. The Prize was awarded to Dr. Davankov in recognition of his discoveries in ligand exchange chromatography.

Dr. Davankov is an elected member of the American Chemical Society, a titular member of the IUPAC, a member of the Scientific Council on Analytic Chemistry and the Scientific Council on High Molecular Weight Compounds of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He is also Chairman of the Scientific Council on Chromatography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Chairman of the Section of Molecular Liquid Chromatography of the above Council.

Dr. Davankov serves on the editorial boards of nine scientific journals around the world, including four in the U.S., two in the Netherlands, one in Germany and one in England. He has won the M. Tswett Medal for Chromatography, and a Diploma for the scientific discovery entitled: "Participation of Achiral Molecular Structures in the Chiral Recognition of Enantiomers by a Chiral Selector." He has authored and co-authored more than 350 scientific papers and patents. Dr. Davankov earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry and his Dr. Sc. in Chemistry at the A. N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organo-Element Compounds of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Hans Dietrich Polaschegg, Ph.D
Medical Device Consultant; world-renowned expert in hemodialysis technology

As designer of the two best-selling dialysis machines in the world, Dr. Polaschegg is an outstanding scientific and technical resource for the Company. He provides a wide range of industry contacts, particularly in Europe, and his guidance is of great importance in designing the interface of the company's polymer cartridge with existing dialysis equipment.

Dr. Polaschegg is an independent medical device consultant and world-renowned expert in hemodialysis technology. After earning a doctorate in nuclear physics at the Technical University of Vienna, he became a Research Physicist at Leybold Heraeus GmbH & Co. KG, focusing on the development, manufacturing and marketing of sophisticated spectroscopy systems. His innovations in the field of spectroscopy led to a number of significant patents.

In 1979 Dr. Polaschegg joined Fresenius AG as Head of Research and Development of the Medical Systems Division. From 1993 to 1994, he served as Director of Special Products for Fresenius. He invented and supervised the development of numerous dialysis technologies including the implantable infusion pump, a dry dialysate concentrate, and the use of hydrophilic membranes for extracorporeal oxygenation. He also designed the Fresenius 2008D and 2008H dialysis machines, two of the best-selling dialysis machines in the world. In addition, Dr. Polaschegg served on the Board of Directors of Fresenius USA from 1987 to 1992.

Robert Albright, Ph.D.
Polymer Research Consultant

Dr. Albright served at Rohm & Haas for more than 30 years as technical manager for the design, synthesis and commercial scale-up of porous polymers. With more than 40 years working experience in porous polymers, he has a long track record of successfully scaling up polymeric resins and adsorptive technologies from bench top to commercial production levels. He teaches Adsorption and Ionic Exchanger courses in American Institute of Chemical Engineering and is an adjunct professor at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA. As one of the leading experts in this field, he has worked as a consultant to several leading polymer manufacturers, and has been called on as an expert witness in several polymer litigation cases. Dr. Albright received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Illinois.