After studying chemistry at the University of Missouri and post-graduate studies in medicinal chemistry at the University of Kansas, Steve enjoyed a brief stint with Farmland Industries researching agrochemicals in his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri. Upon the closure of Farmland’s R&D facility, Steve moved east and resumed his career in pharmaceutical research as a medicinal chemist with SmithKline Beecham in the Philadelphia area. His work at SB was focused primarily on peptidomimetic inhibitors of the newly-characterized HIV protease as potential treatments for AIDS. Steve then returned to the Midwest as a medicinal chemist with Abbott Laboratories where he was instrumental in helping discover several preclinical candidates for oncology and cardiovascular diseases in the renin inhibitor, squalene synthase, and farnesyl transferase programs.

Moving from the Chicagoland area to Ann Arbor, Michigan, Steve accepted a position as a medicinal chemist with Pfizer in 2001. His research at Pfizer resulted in a number of clinical candidates for multiple kinase and nuclear hormone receptor targets, highlighted by the co-discovery of dacomitinib, currently approved and marketed as Vizimpro® for metastatic non-small cell lung carcinoma. Upon the closure of the Pfizer Ann Arbor site, Steve joined Life Technologies in Madison, Wisconsin, developing novel, fluorescently-linked, small molecule probes of various kinases and epigenetic targets to use in new TR-FRET and FP high-throughput screening assays.

In addition, he wrote and revised manufacturing protocols for a variety of products to streamline their manufacture and comply with the requirements of LT’s quality management system. In 2012, Steve joined AMRI, initially in the synthetic chemistry group and ultimately as the leader of the staff running the Automated Synthesis Lab. In April of 2019, Steve transitioned to Cogent Scientific where he is currently the team lead for Cogent’s synthetic group, which includes the Automated Synthesis Lab, the Hydrogenation & Pressure Lab, and the Catalysis Lab.

Steve graduated from the University of Missouri with a B.S. in Chemistry. Steve continued his education at the University of Kansas with two years of graduate study in their Medicinal/Organic Chemistry PhD program.

Hongdi Bai is analytical chemist and a team leader at Cogent Scientific.  His primary focus is in chromatography and purification; including chiral and supercritical fluid chromatography.  Hongdi is a graduate of the school of science from Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI).  He holds the degree of Bachelor of Science in chemistry and a minor in biology.  Since graduating, Hongdi has worked in the pharmaceutical industry as an analytical chemist.

Laura joined Cogent Scientific in July 2018 as a bioanalytical chemist, collaborating with Lilly scientists to develop high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry methods to support research and discovery projects.  What makes her most excited about her work is the opportunity to support research that will benefit cancer and diabetes patients.

Laura was promoted to the leadership team in October 2022 as a team leader.  She feels that Cogent cultivates a positive and accepting work environment and is proud to be a part of it.

In the past, she has worked within the food and health science industries conducting quality assurance tests, analytical assays, and biological extractions.  Her experiences helped hone her skills to succeed in the pharmaceutical industry.

Laura graduated from Purdue University in 2014 with a B.S. in Science, majoring in chemistry.

David Davis studied Biochemistry at Westminster College in New Wilmington, PA, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in 2008.  David then earned his Master of Science in Organic Chemistry at Kent State University in 2013.

David joined Albany Molecular Research Inc at Eli Lilly and Company’s Indianapolis site in late 2013 where he contributed to a large range of medicinal chemistry projects.  He started in the pre-hit screening group and later moved to the Automated Synthesis Lab.  In 2019, David transitioned to Cogent Scientific, continuing his work in Automated Synthesis before moving to the Catalysis Lab.  In addition to his catalysis work, he also assists with the process group’s high-throughput screening efforts.

David assumed the Team Leader role in 2022 for Cogent Scientific’s synthetic group, which includes the Catalysis, Pressure, and Process Chemistry labs.  David appreciates Cogent’s open and transparent advancement structure, caring leadership, and positive culture.

Bhanu Priya is an experienced analytical chemist and a team leader at Cogent Scientific.  She uses various chromatography techniques and performs method development to purify small organic molecules.  In her current role, she leads a team of talented chemists in performing purifications and partnering with Eli Lilly chemists.  She is a key team member of Cogent Scientific technical leadership and is highly knowledgeable about various purification strategies and applications.  She is passionate about providing exceptional service and helping others.

Bhanu has a Master’s degree in Medicinal Chemistry from University of Rhode Island and Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from India.  Her research involved design and development of anti-HIV nucleoside prodrugs and owns technical publications in reputed journals.  Before joining Cogent, she worked in building her family business.  Outside of work she enjoys doing yoga, meditation, reading and travelling with her husband and two beautiful kids.