Empire Genomics

Our scientific expertise coupled with the business acumen of our corporate management team enables Empire Genomics to significantly advance the fields of genetic research and molecular diagnostics to bring to fruition the promise of personalized medicine and healthcare.

Norma J. Nowak, Ph.D.
Founder & Chief Scientific Officer

In her role as the CSO of Empire Genomics, Norma guides the scientific direction of the company and ensures we continually bring the best innovative technologies to the genetic community. She leverages her experience and professional networks to facilitate collaborative research efforts with the leading scientific institutions and global research community.

A leader in the field of genomics, Norma's research contributed directly to the Human Genome Project and microarray-based approaches to understanding heritable disorders and cancer. She is the Director of Science and Technology for the New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics & Life Sciences. Among her major achievements, Norma has authored landmark papers describing the cloning of several heritable cancer disorders, including a form of Ataxia Telangiectasia (Nijmegen Breakage Syndrome). Her work on the Human Genome Project was published in the genome issue of Nature. She led and coordinated the three groups for the NCI extramural Cancer Chromosome Aberration Project. As part of this project, she developed BAC- based array CGH (Comparative Genomic Hybridization) a microarray-based method for identifying numerical differences in DNA between tumor and normal cells and cells from individuals with genetic disorders. The results of this work were published in Nature Genetics.

Dr. Nowak, who has received more than $4 million in research grants from the National Institutes of Health and various foundations, has authored or co-authored 90 research articles in leading scientific journals and has served as an associate editor of Physiological Genomics. She recently joined the editorial board of Cytogenetics and Genome Research as an Associate Editor.

Norma holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Biology from Canisius College and MS and PhD from the State University of New York at Buffalo and has completed post-graduate research in Cancer Genetics at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

Anthony Johnson
Chief Executive Officer

In his role as Chief Executive Officer, Anthony is responsible for guiding the overall strategic vision and managing the day-to-day operations of Empire Genomics. He ensures Empire Genomics has a continually strong commercial offering and negotiates external ventures and alliances to help Empire Genomics maintain its leadership position in the fields of genetic research and diagnostics.

Anthony brings considerable experience in the sales and management of products and services to the research and regulated fields. His creative perspective to implementing successful sales and marketing strategies, early stage funding, joint ventures and daily management are a strong asset to Empire Genomics. Formerly, in the capacity as Business Area Manager for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine for Invitrogen Corporation's GIBCO business unit, he coordinated and directed their entrance into the nascent stem cell market. In doing this, he connected a diverse suite of technologies and products ranging from cell culture products and antibodies to cell separation and quality control technologies to provide complete customer solutions. Prior to Invitrogen, he worked as a strategic business consultant, directed global sales and marketing activities within the pharmaceutical industry and played an integral role in the design and development of the global competitor intelligence system for the CRESTOR product of AstraZeneca. He's coordinated and signed deals with public, private and governmental organizations worldwide and will leverage these relations and experience for Empire Genomics.

Anthony has a Bachelors of Science degree from Fisk University in Biology and holds an MBA in International Strategy from Manchester Business School - Manchester, England. He has also completed graduate level research in Neuroscience at Harvard Medical School.