Our Management Team

Dr. David Scharp -President and CEO. Dr. Scharp trained and worked at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, as a Professor of Surgery and researcher in islet transplantation for nearly 30 years, producing over 200 publications with continuous NIH (National Institutes of Health) and JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) funding and 13 issued patents to date in the area of islet transplantation. Collaborative studies with the late Paul E. Lacy, MD, PhD, pioneered much of the early progress in islet transplantation.

He left the university and joined Neocrin Company in 1994 as Executive Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer, and Chief Medical Officer to develop encapsulated islet xeno-transplantation technology into a clinical product.

In 1999, Dr. Scharp co-founded Novocell, Inc. and developed a conformal PEG coating of human islets as an allograft product without requiring long term immunosuppression. Research and Development studies progressed from rodents through diabetic non-human primate models showing long term encapsulated islet allografts function without immunosuppression. A clinical trial IND for encapsulated human islet allografts was accepted by the FDA in 2005.

In 2006, Dr. Scharp left Novocell and founded Prodo Laboratories, Inc. and Invenio Institute, a not-for-profit California public benefit company focused on performing diabetes research. Invenio Institute later changed its name to The Scharp-Lacy Research Institute. Prodo Labs provides high quality human islets to both corporate and academic diabetes researchers on a global basis having delivered over 16 million human islets in the last three years. The companies are also pursuing research into human islet cell expansion, islet encapsulation, and other diabetes products.

For more information on consulting opportunities with Dr. Scharp, please click here
To view Dr. Scharp’s complete CV, please click here
dscharp@prodolabs.com

Dr. Wanxing Cui -Manager of Scientific R&D. Dr. Wanxing Cui earned his MD degree at the China Medical University in Shenyang, China, where he completed a general surgery residency and mastered microsurgical skills at the Shenyang Medical College Central Hospital. Having developed an interest in diabetes research, Dr. Cui went on to the Kyoto University in Kyoto, Japan, where he received a PhD in molecular medicine with a focus on islet transplantation. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, GA, Dr. Cui joined the faculty of the Department of Surgery at Emory. He became an important member of the JDRF funded islet program and participated in several NIH and JDRF funded multi-disciplinary projects by leading these efforts in Dr. EL Chaikof’s laboratory.

During his 15 years of research, Dr. Cui established a novel method for porcine islet isolation using those islets in the development of a bio-artificial pancreas. Dr. Cui’s research has covered the spectrum from basic studies with rodent islets to clinical trials with human islets. With his solid medical knowledge and advanced surgical skills, Dr. Cui enriched multiple bioengineering projects at Kyoto University, Emory University, Georgia Tech University, and University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Dr. Cui has published 37 papers in peer-reviewed journals, presented his work at multiple scientific conferences and participated in several grant-funded projects. He is a member of the Cell Transplantation Society, the International Pancreas Islet Transplantation Association, and The American Society of Transplantation.

Before joining Prodo Labs, Dr. Cui worked in the Department of Surgery at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) as an Assistant Professor of Surgery by serving as a manager in the Islet Resource Facility under UAB-comprehensive Diabetes Center. He now manages Prodo’s scientific R&D group.

To view Dr. Cui’s complete CV, please click here

David Bondurant -Director of Finance. David spent over 10 years in the financial services industry with UBS Financial Services, Inc. As a director in planning and investment, David managed portfolios exceeding $50,000,000 for multiple families and small business. More recently, David held the position of Regional Vice President for Transamerica Capital, Inc. working with independent financial advisors and assisting in product development and long-term retirement income strategies for hundreds of individual clients.

During this time, David earned the Chartered Retirement Planning Consultant designation (CRPC®) from the College of Financial Planning. In addition, David also has extensive research experience working under Dr. David Scharp in various aspects of diabetes research, including the processing and culture of islet cells. He served as a laboratory assistant at the following entities: Washington University at St. Louis, MO, Neocrin, Inc. and Novocell Inc. David has assisted Dr. Scharp with the development of the artificial pancreas, and in particular, the coating of individual islet cells with polyethylene glycol using solid state cold laser technology. David earned his BA in Economics from The University of Southern California. dbondurant@prodolabs.com

Brian Haight -Director of Sales and Marketing. Brian joined our team in 2010 and brings a background that includes over 12 years of business development, marketing, management and sales. His industry experience includes automotive, contract furniture, recruiting and software. Brian has reached high levels of sales and growth in each of his respective industries, bringing to us the leadership and experience we need in our sales and marketing groups. He graduated from the University of Southern California with a BS in Business Administration with a marketing emphasis. bhaight@prodolabs.com

Michael Magaldi -Director of Business Operations. Mr. Magaldi’s prior background includes executive, management and corporate reconstruction roles in high technology, industrial, sports management, biotech and private equity fund ventures. Mr. Magaldi has designed and project managed several new technology projects working with large petrol-chemical, energy and manufacturing firms such as Exxon, Mobil Oil, Chevron USA, Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas and Electric, General Motors and Ford Motor Company. Mr. Magaldi joined Prodo Laboratories in January of 2010 as Director of Business Operations. In concert with the goals and objectives of the Scharp companies, he and the newly formed management team have provided these companies with a new foundation for near time growth and expansion. Mr. Magaldi holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business from California State University at Humboldt. mmagaldi@prodolabs.com