Team

Déborah leads the Lunaphore team and is responsible for setting strategy and growing the global Lunaphore business. Déborah co-founded Lunaphore in 2014 and has deep, cross-functional expertise after leading multiple departments throughout the years, including as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Marketing Officer. Following Lunaphore’s acquisition by Bio-Techne in 2024, Déborah also sits on Bio-Techne’s Spatial Biology Division leadership team and plays a key role in setting the division’s strategy, vision, and goals. Déborah obtained her bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences & Technology and her master’s in Bioengineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) before taking on a one-year placement at Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology in Boston (USA), where she developed a microfluidic platform to test drugs on cardiac tissues.

Saška leads Lunaphore’s R&D and Scientific Affairs teams and is responsible for driving Lunaphore’s scientific and development strategies, data generation, access lab, innovation and strategic scientific collaborations. Saška joined Lunaphore in 2015 to develop assays on Lunaphore’s microfluidic platforms and build the assay development team while leading multiple development projects and pushing Lunaphore's innovation forward. Saška obtained her Ph.D. in 2012 in Life Science at the University of Lausanne. After graduating, she joined the R&D department for Integration and Validation Systems in the Immunohematology division of Bio-Rad.

Irene leads the Lunaphore Marketing, Product Management, Translational Strategy, and Communications Departments. Irene joined Lunaphore in 2017 as the company’s first commercial hire. She has played a key role in building the marketing and communications functions and making Lunaphore a trusted name in spatial biology. Irene obtained her B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Biology at the Autonomous University of Madrid. She also holds diplomas in Multidisciplinary Writing and International Business. After starting her career in communications and journalism, she moved to global marketing positions within the pharmaceutical industry at Ferring Pharmaceuticals and Gedeon Richter PregLem.

Andrea leads Lunaphore’s Finance and Accounting teams and is responsible for budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning for the Lunaphore business. Andrea joined Lunaphore in 2018 to support fundraising activities and lead the development of new partnerships. Before joining Lunaphore, Andrea worked in business development for the start-up Biolux Research, and in investment banking at UBS in Zürich, where she was involved in several M&A and capital market transactions. Andrea obtained her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at the University of St. Gallen and her master’s in Finance at Imperial College in London in 2012.

Sergei joined Lunaphore in 2023 to lead the Operations Department and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of manufacturing, manufacturing engineering, supply chain, quality control and operational functions as well as developing and implementing processes to scale up production of Lunaphore's key product, the COMET™ platform. He has over 20 years of experience in the Medical Device and Aerospace Engineering areas. Sergei worked at Rolls-Royce Aerospace Group, Oerlikon Group, Merck Pharma, and Bracco Diagnostics. Before joining Lunaphore Sergei led the Production and Operations Engineering Department of Tecan Schweiz AG. Sergei earned his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wales, College of Cardiff (U.K.)

Caroline obtained her Ph.D. in Bioengineering at EPFL in 2016 in the field of cancer immunology. After her Ph.D., she worked at Nestlé Research as an R&D Project Manager and Scientist in the field of micronutrient biology and cancer. She then decided to continue her career in project management and obtained her PMP certification. Caroline joined Lunaphore in 2019 to establish the Project Management Office (PMO) organization and successfully deliver projects on time and within budget.

Toufik joined Lunaphore in 2023 to lead the Quality and Regulatory Department and is responsible for the company's regulatory strategy and compliance, as well as furthering quality management, and contributing to successful continuous development. Toufik holds a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Geneva (CH) and brings over a decade of expertise in quality and regulatory affairs for medical devices. His managerial experience spans roles such as Head of R&D, Director of Operations, Director, and VP of Quality in various technological companies. Toufik has successfully launched 10+ CE-IVD marked products and over 100 preclinical products; bringing 7 different companies to a successful ISO certification and recertification.

Jim is responsible for leading Lunaphore’s Field Service Engineer, Field Application Specialist, and Technical Support teams, as well as developing scalable customer support operations for the fast-growing business. Jim joined Lunaphore as a Field Application Specialist in 2022 to support Lunaphore’s growing customer base in the US, bringing significant expertise in imaging, assay development, and image analysis. Jim’s previous experience includes building and managing Imaging and Mouse Phenotyping Cores at The Jackson Laboratory. Jim also contributed to the design and implementation of the Knockout Mouse Project, an international, collaborative effort to functionalize the genome by making a knockout mouse line for every gene in the genome. Jim also brings extensive industry experience to his role, including sales positions with Oxford Instruments focused on confocal microscopes.