Key Staff
David A. Wagner, Ph.D.
President of MSI, is a recognized expert in stable isotope tracer technology with over 55 publications using stable isotope analysis and mass spectrometry. Dr. Wagner has conducted stable isotope research for 30 years. He earned his doctorial degree in Nutritional Biochemistry and Human Metabolism at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the Department of Nutrition and Food Science, under the direction of Dr. Vernon Young, a leader in stable isotope technology. From 1984 to 1990, he directed the Stable Isotope Analysis Laboratory at the Shriners Burns Institute in Boston and was on the scientific staff in the Department of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. In 1990, Dr. Wagner founded Metabolic Solutions, Inc., the first company offering comprehensive stable isotope analysis for the biomedical community. In addition, Dr. Wagner is the lead inventor on six U.S. patents using stable isotope technology. Dr. Wagner has received 10 phase I NIH SBIR grants and 8 phase II NIH SBIR grants to develop diagnostic stable isotope breath tests. Dr. Wagner is the Study Director on all Good Laboratory Practice Studies.
Martin A. Baker, MBA
Vice President, has a strong corporate strategy background from over ten years as a management consultant and is director of the Company’s operations. Mr. Baker earned a BA in Economics and an MBA in Finance from State University of New York at Buffalo. Mr. Baker is an experienced executive who oversees a broad range of operations including strategic planning, product manufacturing, sales & marketing, accounting and personnel.
William E. Ottinger, Ph.D.
Clinical Laboratory Director, is an expert in clinical laboratory operations. Dr. Ottinger received his Ph.D. in Clinical Pathology from the University of Maryland. Prior to Metabolic Solutions he held teaching positions at University of Texas Health Science Center and laboratory director with Quest Diagnostics. Dr. Ottinger is responsible for ensuring that the clinical laboratory is compliant with CLIA and State requirements to maintain licenses and certification of compliance.
Daniel Bolt, M.S.
Director of Operations, is responsible for quality control/assurance of the device and drug components of the products, MSI laboratory and isotope ratio instruments. Mr. Bolt has been a staff member of MSI since 1998. Prior to joining MSI, Mr. Bolt was the Product Development Manager at Cambridge Isotope Laboratories in Andover, MA. He has significant laboratory experience with stable isotope analysis from prior jobs at Quest Diagnostics (formerly Bioran Laboratories) and the Shriners Burns Institute, Boston MA.
Scientific and Research Advisors
Paul Watkins, M.D.
Dr. Watkins is the Howard Q. Ferguson Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Public Health and Director of the Institute for Drug Safety Sciences at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He is an internationally recognized expert in drug metabolism, drug transport, and drug toxicity. He invented and validated the 14C erythromycin breath test as a means of estimating liver CYP3A4 catalytic activity in patients, thereby obviating the need for liver biopsy. He is one of the most highly cited authors in the field of pharmacology according to ISIhighlycited.com and he has received many honors for his research, including the 2009 Therapeutic Frontiers Award from the American College of Clinical Pharmacy the 2015 Agilent Therapeutic Frontiers Award, the 2016 Rawls-Palmer Innovation in Medicine Award from the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and the 2018 Toxicology Career Award from the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. He has served on multiple national and international scientific advisory committees including a decade on The Scientific Advisory Board for GlaxoSmithKline. Since 1986 , he has been continuously funded for his research by the National Institutes of Health including his current role as as chair of the Steering and Genetics Committees for the U.S. Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network.
Dr. Watkins serves as chief scientific advisor to MSI. He assists in study design and data review. He also provides assistance in recruiting leading researchers and opinion leaders to participate in the clinical studies.