About Us

The Axcend Focus LC® emphasizes simplicity and ease of transport, while providing HPLC robustness. Dr. Milton L. Lee, a renowned expert in liquid chromatography design and operation, developed the Axcend Focus LC at Brigham Young University with his research team.

app-notes-icon
App Notes
webinar-icon
Webinars
envelope-icon
Request Demo
news-calendar
Newsroom
axcend-icon
About Us
the people behind the product

Our Team

Board of Directors

Board of Directors

brent-knudsen-board-member

Brent Knudsen

Board Co-Chair

Brent Knudsen is Managing Partner and founder of Partnership Capital Growth, a leading merchant bank focused on healthy living, healthcare, and values-focused businesses. He is also a founding partner in KC LLC, an early stage investor focused on “change the world” businesses. Prior to founding Partnership Capital Growth in 2006, Brent was an original partner at North Castle Partners, a leading private equity firm targeting investments in healthy living. Prior to joining North Castle in 1997, Brent invested in and ran a number of growth companies in the healthy living arena including GolfWeb (sold to CBS Sportsline), Full Force (sold to Specialized Bicycles) and Newport Surf Company (sold to Pacific Eyes & T’s). From 1985 to 1994, Brent served as the original Vice President of Marketing & Business Development at Price Club and Costco Wholesale prior to, during, and after the merger of the two companies. During his tenure, the company grew from a small San Diego retailer to an international business with over $25B in revenue (over $150B today). From 1983 to 1985, Brent was a senior consultant with Bain & Company, where he focused primarily on health care. He received his Juris Doctorate from the Georgetown University Law Center, graduated magna cum laude with Bachelor’s degrees in Economics and English from the University of Utah; he also attended Harvard Law School and Brigham Young University.

Brent Knudsen
Board Co-Chair
glen-mella-ceo

Glen Mella

Board Co-Chair & Co-Founder

Glen Mella has focused his career on delivering rapid business growth, profitability, and significant investor returns in the high-tech arena, including raising $200 million in investment capital. His experience in executive leadership, product management, marketing communications, consumer retail and online channels, and global business development has allowed him to build and lead successful teams in numerous startups and multinational organizations, including Cypher, Control4, WordPerfect, Novell, Found.com, Triton PCS, and Frito-Lay/PepsiCo. Mella currently serves as an Advisory Board Member for Connected Home Living, with prior Board positions at Imagine Learning and InMoment, as well as serving as a Trustee for the Utah Technology Council and as Chair of UTC’s CEO Peer-to-Peer Forum. Mella received an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School and a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University.

Glen Mella
Board Co-Chair & Co-Founder
Milton L. Lee, Axcend Co-Founder

Milton L. Lee, Ph.D.

Chief Science Officer & Co-Founder

During his nearly 45-year career, Dr. Lee has become one of the world’s foremost experts in separation science, while also becoming a serial inventor and entrepreneur. Most recently, he invented the world’s first portable gradient capillary high-performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC), the Axcend Focus LC® from Axcend®. Previously, he also invented and commercialized three other scientific instruments:

  • A supercritical fluid chromatograph (Lee Scientific);
  • A time-of-flight mass spectrometer (Sensar); and
  • A portable gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (Torion).

Dr. Lee has authored/co-authored over 600 scientific publications, delivered over 500 technical present­a­tions and has over 20 patents to his credit. Additionally, he has received over 25 prestigious industry awards/recognitions during his 40-plus years as a professor at Brigham Young University. Dr. Lee received a doctorate in Analytical Chemistry from Indiana University, a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Utah, and completed post-doctoral research in Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Milton L. Lee, Ph.D.
Chief Science Officer & Co-Founder
brandon-fugal-board-member

Brandon Fugal

Board Member & Co-Founder

Brandon Fugal is Chairman of Colliers International in Utah and was recognized in 2016 as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year (Western Region). He has also been historically recognized at #1 Agent Globally for Coldwell Banker Commercial and Executive of the Year. Prior to selling CBC Advisors to Colliers International in 2018, Fugal built CBC Advisors into the largest commercial real estate firm headquartered in the Intermountain West, with over 500 professionals in 30 offices across the country. Having negotiated over $6 billion in commercial real estate transactions, he has helped launch and establish many of the largest developments in the Intermountain West. For the past decade Fugal has served on the Utah Valley University Foundation Board, as well as on the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce Board and Executive Roundtable. He also represents some of the largest companies and developments in the Rocky Mountain region.

Brandon Fugal
Board Member & Co-Founder
chris-lee-updated-photo-cropped

Christopher Lee, MD

Board Member & Co-Founder

Christopher M. Lee, MD is a radiation oncologist that has actively pursued basic science and clinical research throughout his career. He has presented his research at national and international research meetings, and has authored numerous publications in top medical journals including the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO), The International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology and Physics (IJROBP), and CANCER. He is also a co-inventor on multiple issued and pending medical device patents focused on individualize radiation treatment delivery.

Dr. Lee graduated cum laude in Biochemistry from Brigham Young University, and he received his MD with Distinction in Research from the Saint Louis University School of Medicine. He subsequently completed four additional years of specialty training in Radiation Oncology at the Huntsman Cancer Hospital and University of Utah Medical Center.

Dr. Lee is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Washington and is also a Clinical Associate Professor at Washington State University (WSU) Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine. He enjoys teaching and mentoring medical students and residents in ongoing clinical and research projects. Dr. Lee has also served on the International Elekta Gamma Knife Perfexion/ICON Advisory Group and is the Research Director for Gamma Knife of Spokane.

Christopher Lee, MD
Board Member & Co-Founder
2003-01 004 2003-01 Curtis & Irene Hill- PLC ASK March 2, 2020 Photography by Nate Edwards/BYU © BYU PHOTO 2020 All Rights Reserved photo@byu.edu (801)422-7322

Curtis B. Hill

Board Member

During his executive and financial management career of over 35 years, Curtis B. Hill has developed and managed annual budgets of up to $1.2 billion that covered 12,000 employees based at close to 100 U.S. locations. Most recently, Curtis served for 12 years as Chief Financial Officer of Imagine Learning, an education technology company, where he was the initial lead investor in the company's start-up and early growth phases. He was also a member of the company's board of directors.

Previously, Curtis spent over 20 years in the airline and general aviation industry, including:

  • 16 years with Northwest Airlines (NWA), and;
  • Several years with Woodland Aviation (Beechcraft dealer and service center, charter operator, and private aircraft management company), as well as with Cessna Finance, a division of Cessna Aircraft Company.

Specific roles during his time with NWA included:

  • Controller for its domestic operations
  • Station management for Philadelphia International Airport, Reno-Tahoe International Airport, and Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport with over 350 daily departures.

Curtis received his MBA and bachelor's degrees in Business Management/Finance from Brigham Young University.

Curtis B. Hill
Board Member
Axcend Team

Axcend Team

greg-ward-coo

Greg Ward

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

For nearly 30 years, Greg Ward has translated his electrical engineering background into Go-to-Market and Route-to-Market success for Fortune 100 firms and startups alike, including nearly 25 years with Hewlett Packard and its spinout, Agilent Technologies. During his time with HP/Agilent — and later with Agilent’s spinout, Keysight Technologies — Ward directed GTM plans and teams on a regional and worldwide basis with multi-million-dollar marketing and sales responsibilities. Prior to joining Axcend®, Ward was a management team leader for an IoT security software company responsible for product validation/development and helped lead the company’s initial fundraising efforts. Ward received a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Brigham Young University and a Six-Sigma Green Belt in quality management while at HP.

Greg Ward
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Milton L. Lee, Axcend Co-Founder

Milton L. Lee, Ph.D.

Chief Science Officer & Co-Founder

During his nearly 45-year career, Dr. Lee has become one of the world’s foremost experts in separation science, while also becoming a serial inventor and entrepreneur. Most recently, he invented the world’s first portable gradient capillary high-performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC), the Axcend Focus LC® from Axcend®. Previously, he also invented and commercialized three other scientific instruments:

  • A supercritical fluid chromatograph (Lee Scientific);
  • A time-of-flight mass spectrometer (Sensar); and
  • A portable gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (Torion).

Dr. Lee has authored/co-authored over 600 scientific publications, delivered over 500 technical present­a­tions and has over 20 patents to his credit. Additionally, he has received over 25 prestigious industry awards/recognitions during his 40-plus years as a professor at Brigham Young University. Dr. Lee received a doctorate in Analytical Chemistry from Indiana University, a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Utah, and completed post-doctoral research in Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Milton L. Lee, Ph.D.
Chief Science Officer & Co-Founder
ray-west

Ray West, Ph.D.

Vice President, Business Development

During a career spanning over 30 years, Ray West, Ph.D. has shown an uncommon ability to seamlessly transition from chemical research to business development across industries as diverse as petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, spectroscopy and scientific instruments. After receiving his doctorate in Chemistry from Brigham Young University, Dr. West spent 11 years with Shell Oil Company. After leaving Shell as a Sr. Research Chemist, he became the Technology Director for Gilson where he established and managed the technical center for this supplier of pharmaceutical industry tools. Dr. West then transitioned into the sales, account management and marketing world, initially with Protasis (a developer of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy equipment), and then for the past 13 years with Moxtek, a subsidiary of Japan-based Nippon Kayaku. Since joining Axcend® in 2018, Dr. West has utilized his broad industry and business experience to help develop market acceptance of the Axcend Focus LC®.

Ray West, Ph.D.
Vice President, Business Development
jamie-steware

Jamie Stewart

Director of Operations

Prior to joining Axcend® in 2018 as its Office Manager, Jamie Stewart spent the previous five years as the Operations Director of Cypher Corporation, a venture capital-backed software company that was acquired by Cirrus Logic. Previously, Stewart served as Operations Manager for Code Corporation and as Office Manager for VPI Technology Group, Brainium, and Medical Device Group.

Jamie Stewart
Director, Operations
matt-morse

Matthew Morse

Vice President, Products, Services & Support

Morse has over 22 years of deep and wide service/technical support expertise across dozens analytical chemistry instruments and their related software packages, including liquid and ion chromatography systems, mass spectrometers, LC/MS and solvent extraction instrumentation, and chromatography data software (CDS). During his career, he has worked with clients throughout North and South America, as well as around the globe. Most recently Morse was Senior Manager, Global Technical Services, Instrument & Enterprise Services for Thermo Fisher Scientific, and he had been with Thermo Fisher for 13 years in several technical support and services positions. Previously, he held different service positions with Dionex for over seven years and Sci-Tek Instruments for over two years. After moving to the United States in the late 2000s, Morse was granted an Educational Equivalency of a bachelor’s degree in Information Systems by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services branch of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Matthew Morse
Vice President, Products, Services & Support
elisabeth-gates

Elisabeth Gates

Principal Scientist

Prior to joining Axcend® in early 2020, Elisabeth Gates, Ph.D. served as the Director of Research for Utah-based Precision Membranes, a developer of micron pore membrane filters for capturing and analyzing targeted cells. As a Post Doctoral Fellow (and Graduate Research Assistant) at Brigham Young University, she studied bacterial extraction from blood using magnetic nanoparticles, while also researching and developing fabrication techniques for DNA Origami structures, respectively. Previously, Dr. Gates was a Process Engineer at Intel focused on maximizing photomask quality/availability for manufacturing. She received her Doctoral degree in Inorganic Chemistry from BYU and graduated magna cum laude from Utah State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry.

Elisabeth Gates
Principal Scientist
julie

Julie Blake

Chief Marketing Officer

Julie Blake is a highly motivated and performance driven marketing executive with over 30 years of experience developing successful products. From high-profile global brands to start-ups, Blake has been recognized for utilizing innovative approaches to capitalize on market trends to propel new business growth and sales targets. She began her career at Kimberly-Clark Corporation where she spearheaded the launch of HUGGIES Pull-ups® training pants. Later she joined 3Com Corporation as Director of Marketing for the $1 billion Mobile Communications & Wireless Products Division. From 2003-2022 Blake has filled senior marketing roles at proprietary and public colleges. She executed the launch of Neumont College of Computer Science and most recently served as a Vice President and Chief Student Affairs Officer at Davis Technical College. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of St. Thomas and a Master of Science in Management degree from Cardinal Stritch University.

Julie Blake
Chief Marketing Officer
Michael Powell headshot

Michael Powell

Engineering Manager

Before joining Axcend, Michael was a lead automation engineer at a global provider of computer software solutions for professionals involved in estimating building and repair. Michael is a born problem-solver and the mind behind new software capabilities, even when others say it can’t be done. He graduated from Utah Valley University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science.

Michael Powell
Engineering Manager
J-stimus

JOHN STIMUS

Sr. Account Manager

John brings three decades of experience in sales and laboratory management in the Pharmaceutical, Food, Environmental/Water, and Nutraceuticals industries to his senior account manager role. He has hands-on experience with HPLC, LC/MS, GC, GC/MS, and PCR, and his key account management background includes establishing strategic partnerships with NASA and EXXON. Before joining Axcend, John was with Greenwood Products, Inc. He holds three bachelor of science degrees in chemistry, biology and marine science from the University of Tampa.

John Stimus
Sr. Account Manager
doug

Doug Tate

Sr. Account Manager

Doug is a highly motivated sales leader with an extensive track record of healthcare and Industrial sales success. Before joining Axcend, Doug was DIA/IC/SP Product Specialist Manager at ThermoFisher Scientific for twelve years, providing sales support for HPLC systems. Prior to that he was Regional Systems Account Manager with GE Healthcare, and a sales manager with Reliant Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Doug holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from American State University.

Doug Tate
Sr. Account Manager
paul-peaden

Paul Peaden, Ph.D.

Principal Scientist

From the petrochemical industry to the world of nutraceuticals, Paul Peaden, Ph.D. has spent over 40 years as an analytical chemist and researcher. After receiving his doctorate in Analytical Chemistry from Brigham Young University, Dr. Peaden joined Unocal in the mid-1970s as a Research Chemist developing methods and procedures to meet the requirements of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (as well as the Food and Drug Administration) during his 13-year stint with the firm. Most recently, he spent 20 years with Nature’s Sunshine Products as a Research Investigator utilizing analytical chemistry methodologies to support new and existing product development efforts. Currently, Dr. Peaden is leading the Axcend® efforts to identify separation science processes through the Axcend Focus LC™ high-performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC) for a variety of target markets.

Paul Peaden, Ph.D.
Principal Scientist
Ihor Brown headshot 2

LIAM BROWN

SOFTWARE ENGINEER

Liam brings years of web development experience to his role as a software engineer. Prior to joining Axcend® he served as a consultative analyst helping Bayer Crop Science achieve its innovative environmental science mission. Liam holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music with a dual minor in Computer Science and Philosophy from Brigham Young University.

Liam Brown
Software Engineer
graham

GRAHAM HARRISON

SOFTWARE ENGINEER

Graham Harrison is passionate about analytic research as a tool to solve problems in healthcare, energy and the environment. During his college career, Harrison debuted his talents and took fourth place in eBay’s Machine Learning Competition. Before joining Axcend®, he was a network engineer at LogMeIn, best known for its GoToMeeting unified communications tool. Harrison is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science degree at Brigham Young University.

Graham Harrison
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
SergueiCalugaru headshot

SERGUEI CALUGARU

PRINCIPAL SCIENTIST

Dr. Calugaru has been conducting scientific research in the field of  chromatography for over three decades. His graduate school study was dedicated to developing sorbents for affinity chromatography of proteolytic enzymes. At the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Paris, France) Dr. Calugaru developed a chromatographic purification method for a proteinase inhibitor from human erythrocytes. Later, at the University of Illinois at Chicago and at several industrial companies and contract research organizations in the USA he worked with large and small molecule analytes using a variety of detection methods, including mass spectrometry, fluorescence and evaporative light scattering. Dr. Calugaru holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and a Ph.D. in Bioorganic Chemistry from Lomonosov Moscow State University (Moscow, Russia).  

Serguei Calugaru, Ph.D.
Principal Scientist
Joule headshot (1)

Joule Esene

Associate Research Scientist

Joule is passionate about research and development in the microscale. Before joining Axcend, Joule worked on research projects that involved miniaturizing traditional separation techniques by developing compact 3D-printed microfluidic devices that combine solid-phase extraction and microchip electrophoresis separation for preterm birth risk diagnostics. He received his Doctorate in Analytical Chemistry from Brigham Young University and graduated from the University of Benin, Nigeria with a Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Chemistry.

Joule Esene
Associate Research Scientist
Advisors

Advisors

robin-ritch

Robin Ritch

Advisor

For over 25 years, Robin Ritch has produced outsized intrapreneurial and entrepreneurial success for organizations ranging from Fortune 50 companies to Venture Capital firms and nonprofit enterprises. Her extensive experience includes architecting initial business plans for products and services, and designing and implementing strategies for global ecosystem development leading to increased market creation and penetration. During her career, Ritch spent nearly six years with Cisco Systems creating new business lines through its Emerging Technologies group. She also spent over six years with Intel, much of it in strategic business development roles in the wireless communication industry. Ritch received an MBA from the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business. She also graduated cum laude from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in Finance.

Robin Ritch
Advisor
dennis-tolley

Dennis Tolley, Ph.D.

Advisor

Although his 40-year career began with statistical studies on health and health care costs, Dennis Tolley, Ph.D. has focused most recently on stochastic modeling and data analysis in the biomedical arena. For example, Dr. Tolley has actively applied and extended statistical methods to scientific instrumentation and analytic chemistry, including developing detection methods for Gas Chromatography and Liquid Chromatography systems. Currently a professor of Statistics at Brigham Young University, Dr. Tolley has been a faculty member of the university since 1983. Prior to joining BYU, Dr. Tolley held positions with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Texas A&M, Duke Medical School, and Booz-Allen (among others). He has published over 150 peer-reviewed articles and been issued over half a dozen patents in instrumentation and stochastic feedback control. Dr. Tolley received his Ph.D. in Biostatistics from the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) and his bachelor’s degree in Statistics from BYU.

Dennis Tolley, Ph.D.
Advisor
paul-farnsworth

Paul Farnsworth, Ph.D.

Advisor

During a career of over 35 years in academic research, Paul Farnsworth, Ph.D. has spent the majority of his efforts on analytical spectroscopy, with an emphasis on developing new analytical techniques and instrumentation for trace molecular and elemental analysis. Currently a professor of Chemistry at Brigham Young University, Dr. Farnsworth has been a BYU faculty member since 1983. His expertise in analytical spectroscopy has led to Dr. Farnsworth to over 25 years of editorial service at peer-reviewed, scientific journals, including Editor of both Spectrochimica Acta Electronica (1994—2001) and Applied Spectroscopy (1997—2009), and as a current member of the Editorial Board of Spectrochimica Acta, a position he has held since 2001. He has also authored over 100 papers, chapters, and patents. Dr. Farnsworth earned his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from BYU.

Paul Farnsworth, Ph.D.
Advisor

“HPLC Anywhere® has now become a reality. This opens up new opportunities for chemical analysis that were not possible previously.”

Milton L. Lee
Ph.D. Chief Science Officer & Co-Founder
Axcend
axcend-walking-around-green-box

Truly Revolutionary

Axcend® is a provider of innovative, compact capillary high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) systems that deliver dramatic improvements in portability, ease of operation, rapid and convenient deployment, and coupling to other analytical systems (such as mass spectrometers).

Focus-LC-shot-1

The Axcend Focus LC® emphasizes simplicity and ease of transport, while providing HPLC robustness. Dr. Milton L. Lee, a renowned expert in liquid chromatography design and operation, developed the Axcend Focus LC at Brigham Young University with his research team.

Key features of the Axcend Focus LC® include:

  • A compact HPLC device that's hand-portable
  • Dramatic reduction in solvent, sample, and waste volumes
  • Simple and tool-less column exchange via convenient cartridges
  • Novel multi-wavelength LED UV-absorption for target analyte detection
  • Small footprint HPLC with low power consumption and line voltage or battery operation as standard features
  • An elegant browser interface supporting leading computer, tablet and smartphone operating systems.
Learn More
Contact Us

Get in touch

Thank you for visiting our website! If you would like to learn more about the Axcend Focus LC® or schedule a demo of our compact HPLC device (Virtual or In-Person) then please submit your details using the contact form.

3301 N. Thanksgiving Way #175
Lehi, UT USA 84043

[email protected]

(469) 480-3865

"*" indicates required fields

*All fields are required
Name*