Joseph Chang, Ph.D.
President
Joseph Y. Chang, Ph.D., president of Pharmanex, is an executive who enjoys a comprehensive knowledge of both the pharmaceutical and dietary supplement industries. Dr. Chang formerly served as vice president of clinical affairs and pharmacology at Pharmanex. Before joining Pharmanex, he served as president and chief scientific officer at Binary Therapeutics from 1994 to 1997 and at OAS from 1991 to 1994. He has also held various executive research management positions at Wyeth-Ayerst, Rhone Poulenc Rorer, and other biotechnology companies, where he was involved in researching natural products for arthritis and cancer treatment. A prolific author, Dr. Chang has published numerous articles, reviews and books on pharmacological research during his 18 years in the healthcare industry. He obtained his Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of London and conducted post-doctoral research at The Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health and Hygiene.

Michael N. Chang, Ph.D.
Pharmanex Fellow and Nu Skin Enterprises' Chief Scientific Advisor
Michael N. Chang, Ph.D. is a Pharmanex fellow and chief scientific advisor of Nu Skin Enterprises. In this position he is responsible for providing comprehensive scientific guidance to Nu Skin Enterprises and Pharmanex. Before this he served as senior vice president of research and development and chief scientific officer of Pharmanex. Prior to joining Pharmanex, Dr. Chang served as Director of Medicinal Chemistry at Rhone Poulenc Rorer and Deputy Director of Medicinal Chemistry at Merck. With more than 15 years of pharmaceutical experience, his previous management responsibilities included the direction of several drug discovery projects and IND submissions. His research has resulted in more than 40 articles published in peer-reviewed journals and 33 patents. 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.
Vice President of Global Research and Development
Carsten R. Smidt, Ph.D. has a 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 Boost® energy drink), he also has over seven years of experience as the leading research scientist in new product development for Pharmanex. Dr. Smidt developed new LifePak and most Pharmanex Solutions products. Dr. Smidt's professional areas of interest are: Effects of nutrition and supplements on disease prevention; Antioxidant nutrients. His current position is Vice President of Global R&D, overseeing all of Pharmanex' research and development activities in Provo, Beijing and Shanghai, including chemistry, information resources, scientific affairs, clinical and pharmacological research. Dr. Smidt is a member of the American Society for Nutritional Sciences (ASNS), the American Society of Clinical Nutrition (ASCN), and the German Society for Nutrition (DGE). Dr. Smidt is also a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition (ACN).

Win Duersch, Ph.D.
Senior Director of Global Technical Support
Win Duersch, Ph.D. received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Utah State University. He earned his Ph.D. in Food Science from North Carolina State. He has served as director of research and development at Nalley Fine Foods and directed the development of foods a Kahn's and Company and Griffith Laboratories. He also taught at the University of Maryland specializing in seafood technology and chemistry. He joined IDN in 1995 as the technical specialist on the weight management PMT. He was the Global Lead for new product development and is the Chair of the Technical Advisory Board. He oversees all technical aspects of the product development projects for RMT teams.

Howard Sun Ph.D.
Senior Director, China Research and Development
Howard Sun, Senior Director of China research and development, joined Pharmanex in 1998 and presently is responsible for the Pharmanex chemistry laboratories in the United States and the research and development operations in Shanghai. He received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Clark University and had his postdoctoral training in natural products at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego. Before joining Pharmanex, Howard held several technical and managerial positions in companies including Sterling Winthrop Pharmaceuticals, SeaPharm and Philip Morris. He was an adjunct faculty member of University of Maryland, and is presently a consultant to the Center for Human Nutrition, University of California, Los Angeles.

Luiz F. Cerqueira
Senior Vice President, Operations
Luiz Cerqueira is senior vice president of operations at Pharmanex. Cerqueira oversees all aspects of the company's manufacturing and operations, including final formulation, cultivation, sourcing, quality control and raw material production. Cerqueira has a chemical engineering background and 25 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Before joining Pharmanex, Cerqueira served as president and CEO of Smart Business International, Inc., a pharmaceutical and biotech consultancy company. He also served as vice president of operations and manufacturing for Carrington Laboratories, Inc. and as vice president of Centocor, Inc. Prior to joining Centocor, Cerqueira held various director and management in Brazil at Schering Plough, American Cyanamid, Johnson & Johnson, and Rhone-Poulenc.

Robert Young
Vice President of marketing
Robert Young recently joined Pharmanex as vice president of marketing. He first started at Nu Skin in 1989 as the director of creative services. Since then, he has held various management positions throughout the company including managing director of the Interior Design Nutritionals product division and vice president of business marketing for the Nu Skin personal care division. He most recently served as vice president of global web strategy in NSE before joining the Pharmanex team. Rob has a long history in the direct selling industry, which includes senior management positions in marketing, product development, and communications in the nutritional products industry. Rob received his B.A. in Industrial Design from Brigham Young University.