Our Team
Hashem Akhavan-Tafti, Ph.D.
Vice President, Research
Dr. Akhavan-Tafti’s professional career began in 1989 when he joined Lumigen, Inc. as a Senior Research Scientist. While at Lumigen, Dr. Akhavan-Tafti held various positions of increasing responsibility and was Vice President of Research and Development and Chief Scientific Officer, responsible for all aspects of research and development. Dr. Akhavan-Tafti currently holds the position of Chief Scientific Officer. In this role he is responsible for leading a team of research scientists in the discovery of chemiluminescence, nucleic acid purification and new detection technologies.
During his time at Lumigen, Dr. Akhavan-Tafti has managed a team of research scientists in the development of novel chemiluminescent compounds, improved methods for the chemiluminescent detection of enzymes and enzyme conjugates, methods for chemiluminescent enhancement, developing applications for DNA and protein detection by chemiluminescence and methods of nucleic acid purification. Dr. Akhavan-Tafti played a key role in the invention of multiple commercial products for the chemiluminescent detection of alkaline phosphatase and horseradish peroxidase.
Dr. Akhavan-Tafti holds a BS degree in Chemistry from Kalamazoo College and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Wayne State University. In addition, he is the primary inventor and holder of over 70 United States patents, and hundreds worldwide.
In 2011, Dr. Akhavan-Tafti was awarded the prestigious Edwin F. Ullman award by the American Association for Clinical Chemistry. The award recognizes an individual (or individuals) for contributions to the field of clinical chemistry through the creation of new technologies or analytical methods, or through significant adaptations for application to clinical laboratory diagnostics of technologies from other fields.
Khaledur S. (Sumon) Rashid, Ph. D.
Director of Manufacturing
Dr. Rashid is Lumigen’s Head of Manufacturing operations. He directs and controls all manufacturing operations for all product lines within Lumigen and supports new product development and technological advancement; facilitates the transfer of manufacturing methods and/or technologies within Beckman Coulter and with external business partners; develops and maintains strong collaborative partnerships with leading experts, other companies, joint ventures, and OEMs; and ensures all FDA, ISO and related regulatory requirements are consistently met.
Dr. Rashid has been associated with Lumigen in various positions of increasing responsibility since its inception as a Research Scientist, the Quality Control Manager and the Director of Production. In collaboration with our R&D Department and other partners he has overseen for our current manufacturing processes and product portfolio. He has also developed our QC processes using various scientific methods and procedures uncommon to the general marketplace.
Dr. Rashid holds a Ph. D. in Organic Chemistry from Wayne State University, an M. S. in Chemistry from University of Texas at El Paso, an M.Sc. in Applied Chemistry from University of Dhaka (Bangladesh), a B. Sc. (Honors) in Chemistry from University of Dhaka. He was a Robert A. Welch Fellow at the University of Texas at El Paso. Dr. Rashid is a long time member of The American Chemical Society and The American Society for Quality. He has coauthored several scientific articles in peer reviewed international scientific journals related to Heterocyclic Synthesis of Fused Ring Aromatic Amines and has developed synthetic methods for Chemiluminescent Dioxetanes.