| Biographical note | Raj Bawa, PhD, MD, is president of Bawa Biotech LLC (founded in 2002), a biotech/pharma consultancy and patent law firm based in Ashburn, Virginia. Trained as a microbiologist and biochemist, he is an inventor, author, entrepreneur, professor, and registered patent agent licensed to practice before the US Patent & Trademark Office. He is currently scientific advisor to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Israel; visiting research scholar at the Pharmaceutical Research Institute of Albany Pharmacy, Albany, New York; , and full professor (adjunct) at NOVA in Annandale, Virginia. He is VP/chief IP officer at Guanine, Inc., inRensselaer, New York, a company focused on rapid, accurate detection of infective pathogens. Dr. Bawa has served as a principal investigator of various NCI research grants, and most recently as a principal investigator of aCDC grant to develop an assay for carbapenemase resistant bacteria. Previously, he was an adjunct professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, from 1998 to 2018. He held various positions at the US Patent Office, including primary examiner from1996 to 2002. He earned a BSc (Honours school) in microbiology, MS in cancer biology, PhD in biophysics/biochemistry, and MD. Currently,he is a life member of Sigma Xi, cochair of the nanotech and precision medicine committees of the American Bar Association, and founding director of the American Society for Nanomedicine (established 2008). He has authored over 100 publications, edited 10 texts, and served on the editorial boards of numerous peer-reviewed journals, including serving as an associate editor of Nanomedicine (Elsevier). |