SCIENTIST TESTIMONIALS

Joseph Chang, Ph.D.
President of Pharmanex

Joseph Chang, Ph.D. serves as President of Pharmanex. Dr. Chang has published numerous scientific papers, reviews, and books on pharmacological research and has over 20 years experience in the healthcare industry. As an established leader in bioscience, he has held various executive research management positions with Wyeth-Ayerst, Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, and other biotechnology companies involved in researching natural products for arthritis and cancer treatment. He is a member of the American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, American Thoracic Society, and New York Academy of Sciences. Dr. Chang holds a Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of London and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health and Hygiene.

Michael N. Chang, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Advisor, Pharmanex Fellow

Michael N. Chang, Ph.D. is currently the Chief Scientific Advisor of Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. He is also the President and CEO of Optimer Pharmaceutical, Inc. Before this he was the Founder and Senior Vice President of Pharmanex. Prior to founding Pharmanex, Inc., Dr. Chang served as Director of Medicinal Chemistry at Rhone Poulenc Rorer and Deputy Director of Medicinal Chemistry at Merck. He has over 20 years of pharmaceutical business experience and his previous management responsibilities included the direction of numerous drug discovery projects and several successful IND/NDA submissions. His research has resulted 35 patents and in more than 60 articles published in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Chang holds a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Brandeis University and completed his post-doctoral fellowship at MIT.

Carsten R. Smidt, Ph.D., FACN
Vice President of Global Research and Development

Dr. Carsten R. Smidt received his Doctorate in Nutrition Science and Physiological Chemistry from the University of California at Davis, 1990. Dr. Smidt has over 12 years of experience in the dietary supplement and medical foods industry, including four years at the Mead Johnson Nutritional Group, Bristol Myers-Squibb Company (developed BoostŪ energy drink). Likewise, he has over seven years of experience as the leading research scientist in new product development for Pharmanex. His professional areas of interest include: Effects of nutrition and supplements on disease prevention; Antioxidant nutrients. He developed the new LifePak and most of the Pharmanex Solutions products. Dr. Smidt currently oversees all of the Pharmanex research and development activities in Provo, Beijing and Shanghai, including chemistry, information resources, scientific affairs, clinical and pharmacological research.

  • Member of American Society for Nutritional Sciences (ASNS), the American Society of Clinical Nutrition (ASCN), and the German Society for Nutrition (DGE).
  • Fellow of the American College of Nutrition (ACN).

James Winter (Win) Duersch, Ph.D.
Senior Director of Global Technical Services

Dr. Win Duersch received his B.S. and master's degrees in Food Science and Nutrition from Utah State University, and his Ph.D. in Food Science and Nutrition from North Carolina State University in 1978. Dr. Duersch taught chemistry and Seafood Technology for the University of Maryland as an assistant professor in one of their satellite research labs. He has worked in the product development area of the food industry for a major processed meat manufacturer and for a larger spice blending company, and he has owned his own business. In addition to securing a patent, he has published three research articles and many technical bulletins.

Mark R. Bartlett, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist, New Product R&D

Dr. Bartlett obtained degrees in Biochemistry and Organic Chemistry from the Australian National University and a Ph.D. in Immunology and Cell Biology at the John Curtin School of Medical Research in Canberra.

Dr. Bartlett's research experience includes work in the area of cardiovascular disease with an emphasis on the role of free radicals and antioxidants, transplant research, and human autoimmune inflammatory diseases. He has published more than a dozen papers on this work in various scientific journals.

Dr. Bartlett's research then led him to the United States' National Institutes of Health where, as a visiting scientist at the world-renowned National Cancer Institute, he investigated the interaction of T cells with the blood vessel wall

Dr. Bartlett's interest in the role of nutrition in human health and disease led him to join Interior Design Nutritionals (IDN) in 1996 as a technical specialist and scientific advisor. He has since formulated many supplements and sports food products for the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Australia. Dr. Bartlett is now a Senior Scientist in Pharmanex's New Product R&D team specializing in new product development for the North Asia region.