John G. Hurrell, Ph.D
Vice President and General Manager
John Hurrell, Ph.D. is Focus Diagnostics’ Vice President and General Manager, with responsibility for all laboratory services and diagnostic product operations. Dr. Hurrell joined Focus from Quest Diagnostics where he was Vice President of Business Development.
Dr. Hurrell has more then 20 years of leadership experience in the diagnostics arena both within the United States and internationally. He has been instrumental in building and improving the performance and value of a number of life science and healthcare companies. He has held CEO, COO and VP-level positions in companies that include Inproteo, Tripath, FluorRx, Genzyme, Boehringer Mannheim, and Serono Diagnostics. In these positions, has collaborated in joint ventures developing new biopharma/biodiagnostic technologies, and taken many products from concept through R&D and into full product launch following regulatory approval.
Dr. Hurrell holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Chemistry from the University of Melbourne in Parkville, Victoria, Australia, was a Fulbright Fellow at Harvard Medical School and has dual US/Australian citizenships.
Jay M. Lieberman, M.D.
Medical Director
Dr. Jay M. Lieberman is the Medical Director for Infectious Diseases for both Focus Diagnostics and Quest Diagnostics, Nichols Institute. In this position, he oversees the development and implementation of clinically relevant laboratory testing services and diagnostic products.
Dr. Lieberman is also a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine. Before joining Focus Diagnostics, he was Chief of Infectious Diseases at Miller Children’s Hospital in Long Beach. His major research interest was the evaluation of vaccines and antimicrobials in infants and children. He was the recipient of the Golden Apple Teaching Award from the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine seven times and the Faculty Teaching Award from Miller Children’s Hospital four times. Dr. Lieberman has published articles on a wide variety of infectious disease topics, and frequently has been an invited lecturer at national and international meetings.
Jay M. Lieberman, M.D. is a graduate of Princeton University and the New York University School of Medicine. He completed his residency in pediatrics at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and fellowship training in pediatric infectious diseases at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.
Christina Tran, MBA, MT(ASCP), CLS (NCA)
Director of Laboratory Operations
Christina Tran is Focus Diagnostics’ Director of Laboratory Operations and is responsible for all facets of laboratory services, including Specimen Management, Client Services and Logistics. In addition, Christina oversees operations for the growing Clinical Trials area where vaccine response and other testing services are customized to meet the needs of pharmaceutical developers.
Prior to joining Focus, Christina was Microbiology Supervisor VA West Los Angeles. She also held the position of acting Microbiology Chief for 2 years, conducting laboratory rounds for Infectious Disease staff physicians and serving on the Hospital Infection Control committee. Christina joined Focus Diagnostics (MRL) as Manager of Molecular Diagnostics in November 1998 to help establish and expand the new molecular diagnostics laboratory at Focus. Today, as Director of Laboratory Operations, aside from her routine duties, she has been a key player on the Quest Diagnostics integration team, coordinating the smooth transition of testing between the Cypress and San Juan Capistrano facilities.
Christina holds a Medical Technology degree from Wichita State University and an MBA degree from Dominguez Hills California State University. Christina has more than 20 years of experience and leadership in the clinical laboratory area.
Mark Wobken
Vice President of Applications, Systems and Program Management
Mark Wobken joined Focus in 2007 with over thirty years of Operations experience in the medical device and diagnostic industries. The scope of Mark’s responsibility at Focus Diagnostics has continued to expand and now includes all Manufacturing Operations, Supply Chain, IT, Program Management, Facilities and External Development.
Before coming to Focus, Mark held a variety of positions with increasing responsibilities with leading companies in healthcare manufacturing including Baxter Healthcare, Ciba-Corning Diagnostics, as well as innovative start up companies, ChemTrak and Masimo. In his most recent position before Focus, Mark was VP President of Operations for a start up point of care molecular diagnostic company, Vectrant Technologies.
Mark holds both and BS and MBA degrees in Finance.
Carl Stubbings
Vice President, Sales & Marketing
Carl Stubbings directs sales and marketing activities for Focus Diagnostics laboratory services in the US and for diagnostic products worldwide, including an extensive distributor network. Carl joined Focus in 2007 and brought more than 25 years experience in sales and marketing in the health care industry with specific experience in diagnostics, nuclear medicine, life sciences and private pathology.
Prior to joining Focus, Carl headed up Panbio Inc USA where he was primarily responsible for business development in the Americas and Europe. Carl earned a B.Sc. from Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. He is currently and active member of the Queensland Government’s North American Biotechnology Advisory Council and a member of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
Wayne Hogrefe, Ph.D.
Vice President, Clinical Trials
Dr. Hogrefe is Vice President of Focus Diagnostics’ Clinical Trials business. In this capacity, he is responsible for all aspects of business development and scientific oversight.
Since joining Focus in 1988, Dr. Hogrefe has served in a number of key positions in R&D, laboratory operations, and product development and support including most recently, Director of Scientific Affairs and Technical Services, where he was instrumental in building Focus' Technical Services department. Dr. Hogrefe's research has focused on development of solid-phase ELISA assays for detection of post-vaccine antibody responses, autoimmune diseases, and viral serologic screening assays. Dr. Hogrefe’s research has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals.
Dr. Hogrefe received his Ph.D. in Experimental Pathology from Case Western Reserve University, and was involved with the early studies of cancer immunity and associated host suppressor response. Former positions include Associate Director of the Immunopathology Laboratory at St. Luke's Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio and Assistant Clinical Professor at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine.
Dr. Hogrefe has served various committee and administrative roles with the American Board of Medical Laboratory Immunology, American Society of Microbiology, and Association of Medical Laboratory Immunologists.
Maurice Exner, Ph.D., D(ABMM)
Vice President, Research and Development
Dr. Exner joined Focus Diagnostics in 2007 to oversee research and development for the reference laboratory. His responsibilities expanded to also encompass R&D for the diagnostic products group. He currently leads Focus Diagnostics' R&D team in innovation efforts, prioritizing project portfolios and evaluating new technology.
Before joining Focus, Dr. Exner served as Director of Assay Development at HandyLab Inc., developing rapid infectious disease diagnostic assays using automated microfluidic testing systems. He has also worked at Quest Diagnostics, Nichols Institute as R&D Manager for Infectious Diseases, where he developed a large portfolio of tests. He received his Ph.D. in Microbiology at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, and subsequently held a post as a Postdoctoral Researcher at UCLA School of Medicine.
Dr. Exner has authored more than 20 publications and holds 10 patents. His current affiliations include American Board of Medical Microbiology (diplomate), American Society for Microbiology, and he has served as a reviewer for a number of scientific journals.
Deborah L. Morris
Sr. Director Clinical Affairs and Regulatory Affairs
Deborah Morris directs the Regulatory Affairs and Clinical Affairs related activities for Focus Diagnostics’ Products Division. In that role, she has the responsibility for developing and implementing the strategies for product regulatory submissions and registrations. Key functions include ensuring that data gathered for regulatory submissions demonstrate safety and effectiveness and meet regulatory agency requirements; in addition, she oversees compliance to ISO, Local, State, Federal, and international medical device directives.
Deborah Morris has over 25 years experience in the in vitro diagnostics industry. Deborah has held management positions with Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Diagnostic Products Corporation, Ischemia Technologies and BioStar. She has successfully completed numerous PMA and 510(k) submissions, and coordinated R&D and Marketing activities to launch products and provide post-market support. She has authored a number of scientific publications.
Deborah holds MS degrees in Biostatistics and in Computer Science, and a BS degree in Biology.
Cinda Aalseth
Controller
Cinda Aalseth is Focus Diagnostics’ Controller. Cinda is responsible for directing all accounting and finance functions for the Laboratory Services, Products and Clinical Trials lines of business. She leads the team that handles the daily financial operations, and also directs the development of accurate and timely monthly, quarterly, and year-end reporting for the business to meet its external SEC reporting requirements, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), legal compliance and corporate goals and objectives.
Prior to joining Focus in 2004, Cinda was the Asst Controller for Astra Oil Company and before that she was an audit manager for Deloitte & Touche, where she took on increasing responsibility and gained global experience in a variety of industries which included manufacturing, construction engineering, and food service.
Cinda received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration, from California State University Long Beach. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), State of California.
Michael Albright
Director, Diagnostics Operations
Michael joined Focus Diagnostics in March 2008 bringing 18 years of operations and supply chain management experience in the medical device, pharmaceutical, and in vitro diagnostics industries. Michael has a broad range of experience including contract manufacturing, ERP system deployment, new product introductions, manufacturing scale up and supplier quality management.
In his role as Director for Diagnostics Operations, Michael is responsible for all areas of planning, production, procurement and distribution for Focus diagnostic products worldwide. Michael also oversees technical transfer of new diagnostic products from R&D to production.
Michael holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management degree from Pepperdine University, graduating Magna Cum Laude. He is also certified in production and inventory control management from APICS, and is a Six Sigma Green Belt.
Jim Kathrein
Director of Commercial Services
Jim Kathrein is Focus Diagnostics’ Director of Commercial Services. Jim is responsible for developing and directing all commercial business processes and functions including Diagnostic Order Fulfillment, Contract Administration, and Sales Operations.
Jim joined Focus in 2008 bringing over 25 years of Sales, Management and Commercial Operations experience in the healthcare industry including medical diagnostics, laboratory services and hospital administration. Prior to Focus Diagnostics, Jim was the Director of Sales Operations for Siemens Medical Diagnostics (formerly Diagnostic Products Corporation).
A retired Medical Service Corp Officer in the United States of America, Jim holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Wayland Baptist University, San Antonio Texas.
Karen M. Murvin, SPHR
Director, Human Resources
Karen Murvin is Focus Diagnostic’s Director of Human Resources responsible for directing the planning, development, implementation and administration of compensation and benefits, employment and employee relations program and employee development.
Karen joined Focus in September 2000 and has over 20 years experience in the human resources field with companies like PacifiCare Health Systems, FHP, Great States and Kirkwood Dynaelectric.
Karen holds a B.A. degree from California State University, Fullerton and received her professional certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) in 1997. Karen is a member of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and a member of the Professional in Human Resources Association (PIHRA).
