AIDP has announced that Jennifer Gu, PhD, who has led the company’s research and development department for 20 years, has been promoted to senior vice president of research and development.
 
With this promotion, AIDP has hired Mike Weiser, PhD, as vice president of research and development, and Rafea Naffa as scientific advisor.
 
“We’re excited to welcome these new experts to our R&D team, bringing diverse experience and insights to enhance our research capabilities,” said AIDP in the announcement. “Their combined knowledge strengthens our commitment to delivering high-quality, scientifically supported products.”
 
Weiser’s career has spanned the nutraceutical ingredient and consumer packaged goods industries. After receiving a BS in chemistry, Weiser began his career in the pharma industry as a medicinal chemist working on novel drug development. He went on to pursue a PhD in biomedical science with a focus on neurobiology and neuroendocrinology, followed by a post-doctorate in stress neurobiology and physiology. Weiser is an inventor on several patent applications, and an author of over two dozen peer-reviewed scientific articles.
 
Naffa has a PhD in biochemistry and has authored over 35 peer-reviewed publications, primarily focusing on collagen. He has more than a decade of experience in the collagen industry, and has contributed to the development of collagen products and peptides. He serves as an editor and reviewer for scientific journals. Naffa’s experience as a project manager and a scientist includes expertise in agilePM, Prince2, protein quality, mass spectrometry, and big data analysis.