When you think about research and development at a company like Luminex, your mind probably goes straight to the instruments we produce — the sophisticated technology platforms like our ARIES® System. However, those systems wouldn’t be nearly as valuable to customers without having top-notch assays to run on them, and that’s where Joern Mosner, Vice President of Assay R&D, comes in. A recent transplant to the Austin area, he joined Luminex in February 2018. Joern was born in Hamburg, the second largest city in Germany. He earned his PhD in molecular biology with a focus on oncology research at the University of Hamburg.
Q: What are your responsibilities at Luminex?
A: The assay development team is continually working on a new menu of tests for each of our different platforms. This allows users of existing instrumentation to expand their assays and applications. My responsibilities include managing assay development activities to ensure that we are on time and have the right resources to accomplish our tasks, as well as thinking about the future and long-term opportunities in our pipeline. I also handle scouting to find potential partners in academia or startup companies.
Q: What did you do before this job?
A: I spent 10 years at Siemens Healthcare in strategy and business development, looking at new opportunities and evaluating new technologies, and worked in molecular R&D for product development in Berkeley, California.
Q: What drew you to Luminex?
A: First of all, the vision and clear focus of the company. I really like the product portfolio and the sample to answer strategy; it is an area of fast growth in molecular diagnostics right now. The company also features a great leadership team that I was eager to join.
Q: If you weren’t overseeing assay R&D at Luminex, where would you be?
A: Offers and ideas never run out. I might even have my own biotech company as I had before joining Siemens.
Q: If you could solve any clinical or genetic challenge, what would it be?
Cancer is such a major burden. It would definitely be a great achievement if we could help treat cancer patients earlier so they have a fair chance of being cured. Cancer is often treatable, but many times when we find it, it is simply too late.
Q: What is something about you that no one at Luminex knows?
A: Back in high school, I played bass guitar in a punk band that covered songs from bands like The Clash and the Ramones. In those days, I was very interested in disruptive punk and new wave music, but left it behind as I grew up. I still like the ’80s New Wave music and enjoy seeing bands like The Cure and Depeche Mode.
Q: What is your favorite thing to do in Austin on the weekend?
A: So far, my wife Desiree and I just settled — we have emptied all our moving boxes and finally feel at home again. The next thing will be exploring the neighborhood in Austin and eventually seeing more of Texas, the cities, countryside, and coast. We have already found out that the people in Texas are very friendly.
