Koide joined Southern Research’s infectious disease program in 2007. He has 18 years of experience in research and program leadership, and he specializes in animal studies to evaluate novel vaccines and therapeutics for emerging infectious diseases including dengue, Zika, and yellow fever. In his previous experience, he worked at Nabi Pharmaceuticals, where he was involved in the research and development of a vaccine for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). He previously worked Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where he worked on studies related to newly developed cancer vaccines and also was involved in more than 10 phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials. He is currently directing multiple dengue and Zika vaccine pre-clinical and clinical programs for commercial and government clients. His most recent research interests focus on the animal model development for Zika virus infection. Koide received his master’s degree in immunology and microbiology at the New York Medical College.

Toomey serves as the attending veterinarian and the manager of animal care and research. He has regulatory oversight for all animals at Southern Research, including management of the animal program and maintenance of animal facilities. He is responsible for ensuring compliance with USDA Animal Welfare Regulations, Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, and the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, as well as maintaining the organization’s accreditation through the Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International. He has played a role in a wide variety of research studies using animals, and is eligible to sit for board examinations in Laboratory Animal Medicine. Prior to joining Southern Research, Toomey managed colonies of breeding nonhuman primates and maintained CDC quarantine practices for nonhuman primates being brought into the U.S. In addition, he worked in a private veterinary private practice. Toomey graduated from Louisiana State University with a bachelor’s degree in animal science and received a doctorate from LSU’s School of Veterinary Medicine.

As the chief information officer at Southern Research, Johnson leads a team of dedicated professionals intent on providing Southern Research with world-class technology solutions, with a focus on innovation, agility and cost-efficiency. He is also on the information technology leadership team at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he serves faculty, researchers, staff and students. He also holds a non-tenure track appointment as a professor at UAB. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from University of Alabama and a master’s in management information systems from UAB. He is an active member of the Alabama Chief Information Officers Association.

Jay H. Russell, Ph.D. brings more than 10 years of molecular platform and drug development experience ranging from biotech to large pharma companies. His scientific passions are directed towards the development and incorporation of molecular platforms enabling drug discovery and development. His primary focus has been developing novel platforms using molecular biology and protein engineering tools to enable biologic drug discovery. As a molecular biologist, he has led teams in the directed evolution of enzymes and antibodies, improving API production through biocataylsis and enhancing biophysical properties of biologic therapeutics.Dr. Russell’s work in these areas has led to multiple publications and patents. He received a B.S. in Chemistry and Biochemistry from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from The Pennsylvania State University.

Pickens holds more than 10 years of scientific leadership experience as a subject matter expert in infectious diseases and preclinical drug development focused on the advancement of cutting-edge vaccine and therapeutic medical countermeasures in the nonclinical and clinical setting. Before joining Southern Research in 2019 and again in 2022, she earned a Ph.D. in Infectious Diseases from the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia in 2011 under the mentorship of S. Mark Tompkins and later completed postdoctoral fellowships (2012-2017) within the laboratory of James E. Crowe, Jr at the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center and Ralph A. Tripp at the University Georgia. Her career has focused on managing preclinical research programs aimed at identifying and assessing the efficacy of novel antiviral therapeutics against potentially lethal respiratory viruses (i.e. respiratory syncytial virus, metapneumoviruses, SARS-CoV-2 and influenza), as well as managing more than 40 clinical trials within the Lymphoma and Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Division at Sarah Cannon Research Institute, working alongside renowned physician leaders Dr. Ian W. Flinn and Dr. Carlos Bachier. During the COVID-19 pandemic, her work focused predominately on developing the nonclinical commercial and government A/BSL-3 SAR-CoV-2 program at Southern Research before joining the Biomedical Advanced Research & Development Authority (BARDA) in 2021 as a nonclinical and infectious disease SME/Biologist. She returned to Southern Research in 2022 as Associate Director of Client Services; and in her new role, she works alongside commercial and government clients providing scientific and operational guidance through the lifecycle of their pre-IND pipelines. Her research has resulted in eight highly-cited publications and invitations to present at national and international conferences.

Pickens’ Key Accomplishments:
• Identified low pathogenic avian influenza strains that exhibited enhanced pandemic potential
• In vitro and in vivo characterized antiviral therapeutics against influenza, RSV, orthopoxvirus, SARS-CoV-2, HIV, and hMPV
• Helped develop the hamster and NHP animal models for SARS-CoV-2

Mann has been a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Medicine since 2002 and has worked at Southern Research since 2003. Mann has served as a study pathologist for numerous studies involving potential treatments for cancer and infectious diseases. Sponsors of the studies have included government agencies and commercial companies. Mann has served as the chair and vice chair of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science. Mann received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Eastern Kentucky University and a doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of Missouri. She completed two fellowships at Johns Hopkins University, one in comparative medicine and the other in radiation oncology.

Joseph C. Randall, Ph.D., is the Director of Toxicology. Dr. Randall brings more than 20 years of drug development experience in the design, conduction and reporting of regulated toxicology studies in support of IND and NDA applications for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. His doctoral and postdoctoral research in neurotoxicology was conductedat the University of Michigan. He and has worked at multiple small and mid-sized pharmaceutical companies in Boston and the San Francisco area.

His expertise includes lead selection, lead optimization, in-vitro and in-vivo toxicology studies, safety pharmacology, genetictoxicology, and carcinogenicity assessment in rodents. Dr. Randall has detailed knowledge of FDA, ICH, and OECDguidance’s that pertain to the design and conduct of general and specialized toxicology studies. His areas of therapeutic expertise include the safety assessment of antivirals and drugs to treat neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and ocularindications. He has more than 10 years of project team experience and has managed many outsourced bioanalytical, pharmacokinetic, and GLP toxicology studies in support of Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials. He has also co-authored 5 successful NDAs and 10 INDs using the common technical document format for regulatory submissions.

Lanier joined Southern Research in 2017 as the first STEM Education Outreach Director. She directs a statewide program that aims to inspire young people to pursue careers in science and engineering, in addition to training teachers involved in these fields. In addition to her role at Southern Research, Lanier represents Alabama’s 6th congressional district on the Mathematics Course of Study Committee and Alabama’s 7th congressional district on the Career Technical Education Course of Study Committee. She also serves on the Governor’s Advisory Council for Excellence in STEM. Lanier received her doctorate in chemistry from Georgia Tech, where she worked in the laboratory as part of the NASA Center for the Origin of Life. Lanier received the Georgia Tech Presidential Fellowship, an award allocated to the top 5% of each doctoral class for all four years of her doctoral studies. She was also a molecular biophysics and biotechnology fellow for three years. She was included in Georgia Southern University’s Top 40 under 40 in 2018 and Georgia Tech’s 40 Under 40 class in 2020.

Garrett manages a project portfolio that operationalizes the organization’s people and community strategic initiatives, including supporting the organization’s talent recruitment and retention, employee safety, communications, community engagement, and STEM programs. Prior to joining Southern Research in 2022, Garret served as a program director at Alsana, where she oversaw the operational aspect of assigned programs. She earned a master’s degree in public health from Northeastern University and a bachelor’s degree in community health education from Berea College. Garrett is a member of the American Public Health Association and Rotaract Club of Birmingham.

Ray joined Southern Research more than 20 years ago as a histologist and has been promoted to new levels of responsibility as she continued to gain new education and skills. She has received a number of certifications in subject matter ranging from laboratory management to pathology informatics, and she has been recognized on many occasions by peers for her contribution to the field of histotechnology. She is currently working toward a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from the University of Alabama. In 2020, she was a member of Southern Research’s inaugural class of the SOAR Leadership Development Program.