We manufacture robotic-based solutions for the life sciences industry with unique, patented, or patent-pending intellectual property (IP) protected solutions in biobanking, cell culturing automation, and more.
Our solutions are based on IP (including 10 patents) acquired for global exclusivity from our Korean partner who has manufactured and installed over 5000 robots and 11,000 linear modules for the Life Sciences and Semiconductor markets. We are bringing proven solutions to the world market, and expanding the technology and product line with our US-based engineering team.
We launched our products in 2018. You can read our introduction announcement here.
Charlie Duncheon, CEO and Cofounder
Charlie Duncheon has spent over thirty executive years in the robotics and factory automation industry. He joined Adept Technology at its inception and as the chief commercial officer led Adept to a successful IPO and over $100M in annual revenue.
Duncheon’s consulting business led to his CEO and founder roles including Artificial Muscle, Inc. (acquired by Bayer) and venture-backed Grabit, Inc. He currently serves as a robotics and IoT mentor at Plug and Play, and was elected as President and Board Chairman of the Robotics Industries of America (RIA) and received RIA’s distinguished Joseph Engelberger Leadership Award.
Duncheon holds a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering from Purdue University and a master of science degree in business administration from Southern Illinois University. He is a registered professional engineer. In his spare time, he is an author and volunteer youth basketball coach.
Jin-Oh Kim, Ph.D., CTO, Cofounder, and President of KAR (Korea Association of Robot Industry)
Dr. Kim is a well-recognized leader in robotics and factory automation, having worked in the industry for over 30 years as a scientist, educator, author, and entrepreneur.
Early in his career, Dr. Kim worked as a senior leader in Secom Intelligent System Lab, Japan, and as the Director of the robot business for Samsung Electronics. Since 1999 he has been a professor at the School of Robotics at Kwangwoon University, Seoul, Korea. He has also served as a visiting associate professor of computer science at Stanford University. From 2003 to 2008 he was a national director of the steering committee of robotics in Korea.
Over the years, Dr. Kim has worked with many companies and lead the development of more than 400 robots and systems in fields from semiconductors to the bio/medical industry. Recognized as a leader in the robotics industry, he also published two books: “Robots, the Society and Economy” and “Defense Robotics”. He is now working on two more books: “Robot Design Methodology” and “Future with Robots” based on his industrial experience and knowledge.
Kim earned his BS and MS degree in mechanical engineering from Seoul National University, and his Ph.D. degree in Robotics from Carnegie Melon University. His doctoral study was “Task-Based Design of Robot Manipulators”.
In 2008, Dr. Kim received the Robot Industry of America’s (RIA) highest award: the Joseph Engelberger Award for Leadership.
Jeff Baird, Chief Operations Officer
Chau Chavez, CFO
Ms. Chau Chavez, Chief Financial Officer at Celltrio® is responsible for financial and accounting functions at the company. Ms. Chavez brings more than 20 years of finance and accounting experience across private and public companies to Celltrio®. Prior to joining Celltrio®, Ms. Chavez was the Corporate Controller of Grabit, Inc.
Prior to Grabit, Ms. Chavez held positions in finance and accounting at Loral Aerospace, Applied Materials, Cisco, Mattson Technology.
Ms. Chavez holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration from California State University in Hayward, and an MBA in finance from
Santa Clara University.
She is a certified public accountant licensed in the State of California.
Raphael Kim, VP, Software Engineering, and Cofounder
Raphael Kim started his career at the founding of Comprehend Systems, as a full-stack engineer creating web applications for visualizing and monitoring clinical data for pharmaceutical companies. Raphael’s work helped Comprehend grow to ~80 employees, receiving rounds of funding from Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Raphael later transitioned to the robotics industry, joining Robots and Design Co., Ltd. As a product manager/developer he handled multiple projects creating robots for several different industries, including Dental, Pathology, Biology, and Lab Automation.
Raphael holds a bachelor of science degree in Computer Science and a bachelor of science degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. He also holds a master of science degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon.
JaeWook Ha, Vice President of Product Management
Mark Freitas, Senior Operations Manager
Mark Freitas has over 20 years of experience in operations management in capital equipment companies, particularly with a focus in automation with optics and robotics. He has experience with formulating and driving strategic initiatives, while creating a culture that values productivity, quality, and continuous improvement. Mark holds a bachelor’s degree in electronics engineering as well as a lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification.
Prior to Celltrio®, Mark managed manufacturing and production groups at Bloom Energy, Nanometrics, and Global Product Install and Upgrade teams at KLA.
Gurmil Gendeh, Senior Director, Business Development
Gurmil brings extensive expertise in life sciences, with a focus on global biopharma/biotech, cell and gene therapy, proteomics, and single-cell multiomics markets. He has a proven track record in developing and executing market channel strategies, forging strategic partnerships, and driving sustainable growth. Gurmil’s career includes significant roles at industry-leading companies such as HP, Agilent, Thermo, and GE Healthcare. Gurmil holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the National University of Singapore and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Cancer Biology at Stanford University.
Mike Sjaastad, Ph.D.
Mike’s life science career has spanned research labs to executive leadership in drug discovery tech. Leveraging a strong scientific background with business experience, he is a recognized leader in drug discovery tech commercialization, automation, and “go to market” positioning and execution.
Currently, Mike is a strategic business consultant. With a successful track record at over 10 startups and mid-sized drug discovery technology companies, he can provide practical guidance for clients in the process of innovation, market entry, thru exit.
Dr. Paul Beaupré
Paul N. Beaupre’ MD is a board-certified Anesthesiologist and CEO of St. John’s Medical Center in Jackson, WY. Named “112 Physician Leaders to Know” by Becker’s Review, Dr. Beaupre’ has combined his front-line experience and innovation leadership to improve patient safety, hospital operations and core measure scores.
Dr. Beaupre’ is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the American Cancer Society, and EHC LiefBuilders.
He graduated from the Claremont Men’s College, and earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine medical school.
Ajamete “Aj” Kaykas, Ph.D.
Aj’s life science career has spanned academic research, drug discovery, platform technology, and executive leadership. He is a recognized leader in functional genomics, stem cell biology, disease modeling, automation-enabled discovery, and translational R&D.
Currently, Aj is Chief eXploration Officer and Head of Neuroscience & Ophthalmology at insitro, where he leads advanced technology exploration and therapeutic strategy across neuroscience and ophthalmology. As insitro’s first executive hire, he helped build and scale the company’s high-throughput biology platform, integrating cell-based disease models, automation, imaging, functional genomics, and machine learning for drug discovery.
Prior to insitro, Aj led early target discovery in neuroscience at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research and held scientific leadership roles at the Allen Institute for Brain Science and VLST. He completed his postdoctoral training at the University of Washington/Howard Hughes Medical Institute and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.