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Scientific Advisory Board
Most folks have only one ace up their sleeve. We have all four.
Our Scientific Advisory Board is packed full of industry-defining experts in their own respective fields. Each member serves as a mentor and guide for the Abstrax team by providing decades of hands-on experience and knowledge. Thanks to their guidance we’re able to develop entirely new classes of products while identifying problems in industries that we are uniquely positioned to solve. These are the legends who elevate our team and our products.
Barbara Taylor joins the panel to help bolster the Flavor Development Team and further its mission to lead the industry in sensorial advancements, formulation consistency, and product offerings. As the Principal Flavorist for Altria for more than 26 years, she has created some of the most iconic flavors for leading fruit juice and inhalation brands. Go to almost any grocery store in the United States and you’ll find examples of her work. Her in-depth knowledge and propensity for innovation will undoubtedly raise the bar for Abstrax to offer the widest variety of multi-dimensional flavors for brands seeking to delight their customers.
Antoine Lie is a renowned perfumer from France who has made significant contributions to the fragrance industry. Raised in Strasbourg, France, he studied chemistry before moving to Grasse to study fragrance at Givaudan under Jean Carles. After an apprenticeship to famous teaching master Jean Guichard, Antoine spent time in both France and the United States, where he was involved in developing worldwide hit fragrances such as Armani Code and Versace Crystal Noir, but a yearning for greater creative freedom led him away from the big companies and towards the niche houses where he would be allowed to pursue his own vision of straightforward, yet unconventional fragrances.
Antoine’s love for perfumery has led him to work on exciting new projects, such as creating bespoke fragrances for brands and individuals, advising on perfume development, and specializing in the olfactory identity of brands. Antoine is committed to innovation in perfumery and is passionate about researching and extracting new raw materials for fragrances.
Dr. Willie McKinney is the founder and CEO of McKinney Regulatory Science Advisors, LLC. He leverages his experience from serving on FDA’s Tobacco Product Scientific Advisory Committee and as Vice President of Regulatory Sciences at Altria to guide clients through the regulatory landscape. His previous roles include positions at JUUL Labs and various academic and research institutions.
Dr. McKinney holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology from the University of North Carolina and is certified by the American Board of Toxicology. His firm, McKinney Regulatory Science Advisors, is a consortium of expert advisors with over 25 years of experience in regulatory requirements for tobacco, offering customized application filing strategies and product testing plans.
Dr. Avery Gilbert is a world renowned smell scientist who has conducted research on human odor perception in academic laboratories and in the R&D divisions of multinational perfume companies.
With his vast knowledge of human olfactory perception, Dr. Gilbert has helped to develop internal and external sensory panels for Abstrax product testing. Together, Abstrax developed and validated AI-based mood enhancing terpene blends (AI Terp Effects) for use as a functional ingredient in consumer products and they continue working to quantify the benefits of functional flavorings in beverages and CPG applications targeting mood.
The Abstrax
Science Team
Just a few of the incredible people working behind-the-scenes.
Teamwork and collaboration is how everything gets done at Abstrax. We’re stronger as a team because we’re full of people who each bring their own unique experiences, viewpoints, and expertise. We’re just a bunch of super passionate folks who want to develop cool & unique offerings while tackling challenging problems. And we do it all together.
TJ Martin is a research scientist with a broad range of experience over the past thirteen years working on fundamental scientific research in new emerging fields, cannabis science, alternative fuels, product development, and flavor creation. He received his education from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona in Chemistry.
As the VP of Research and Development he has overseen the creation of over 500 commercialized products, co-wrote peer-reviewed scientific publications, and successfully patented Abstrax discoveries protecting core product lines. The publications elucidated brand new VOC’s identified in cannabis, and the potential impacts of consuming widely used diluent products.
Kevin Koby is an organic chemist with extensive cannabis formulation & manufacturing experience. His early work helped to pioneer the creation and commercialization of solvent-free cannabinoid oil which has become ubiquitous within the cannabis industry. He received his education from the University of California, Santa Barbara in Chemistry.
Prior to cofounding Abstrax, Kevin served as the VP of Manufacturing/R&D for KingPen and LoudPack Extracts where he earned 6 High Times Cannabis Cup awards for his vape formulations and four additional Cannabis Cups for his concentrates.
As the Chief Science Officer for Abstrax, Kevin was responsible for the Canadian legalization of hydrocarbon extraction for cannabis. He has co-authored several peer-reviewed scientific publications that have been featured in Nature, ACS Omega, and Popular Science amongst others. His scientific leadership at Abstrax has resulted in breakthrough discoveries in cannabis flavor technology as well as the advancement of cannabis and hops extraction technologies.
Jennifer Guild began her career with T. Hasegawa, one of the world’s top 10 flavor and fragrance companies. There, she spent four years developing flavors in the lab as an Assistant Flavor Chemist before transitioning to Regulatory Affairs. She helped form T. Hasegawa’s Global Regulatory Department before moving on to D.D. Williamson, a world leader in caramel and naturally derived colors.
At D.D. Williamson, she spent over 10 years helping to develop a Global Regulatory Department. In 2017, she founded the Food Regulatory Guild with the goal of assisting more food, feed, and cosmetic manufacturers in building brand confidence through regulatory compliance. She briefly worked for Firmenich, another of the world’s top 10 flavor and fragrance companies, as a Fragrance Regulatory Manager before joining Abstrax.
Jennifer joined Abstrax in 2022 to strategize, develop, and implement industry-defining regulatory and quality programs. These programs ensure that Abstrax consistently produces high-quality products that comply with the complex and ever-changing regulations of the cannabis market, while also exceeding customer expectations.
At Abstrax, Jennifer collaborates with multidisciplinary teams to evaluate both existing and new product innovations for their potential to meet global regulatory requirements, quality needs, and labeling claims in a responsible manner, from concept to commercialization. She also actively influences evolving regulatory policies to further establish Abstrax’s reputation as a leader in the industry and a valuable strategic business partner for customers.
Dr. Iain Oswald is a highly accomplished chemist with a passion for exploring the chemical properties of cannabis. He obtained his B.S. and M.Sc. from the University of North Texas, where he studied organic and inorganic chemistry. He obtained his PhD in Materials Science from the University of Texas at Dallas. He has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles, presented at multiple national and local conferences, and is an inventor on numerous patents.
At Abstrax Tech, Dr. Oswald’s research focuses on understanding the complex chemistry of cannabis, including the volatile organic compounds that give it its unique aroma. To comprehend the multifaceted chemistry of cannabis, Dr. Oswald’s research utilizes state-of-the-art analytical instrumentation, such as two-dimensional gas chromatography.
In particular, Dr. Oswald’s work on the discovery of volatile sulfur compounds, referred to as cannasulfur compounds (CSCs), has opened completely new avenues for studying and understanding the chemistry of cannabis.
Our
Research
Abstrax performs industry leading peer-reviewed cannabis research. Click to see what our team has been studying.
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About
Abstrax
You’ve met the team. Now learn how Abstrax can help guide you and your business towards success.
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