MARAbio Systems Inc., a medicine biotechnology company in Salt Lake City, has appointed Dr. Michael Paul as the company’s CEO. Paul has more than 25 years of life science industry experience, including leading a number of organizations from formation to strategic exit. He succeeds Dr. James Woody, who will continue to serve as vice chairman of the board of directors.
MARAbio’s technology enables the detection for risk of developing a specific subtype of autism through a blood test in the mother, either prior to pregnancy or after the child is born. The process is based on the discoveries of founder Dr. Judy Van de Water at the University of California Davis MIND Institute.
“MARAbio’s vision is a world in which the most severe effects of autism are treatable, and our entire team is energized to have Michael lead us forward,” said Van de Water. “Our mission is to detect the MARA subtype that has been shown to be associated with more severe forms of autism and in some instances ensure that MARA does not occur, and Michael’s appointment as CEO is a critical inflection point for us.”
“I am honored to lead this pioneering biotechnology company forward, and excited to continue working closely with Dr. Van de Water and Dr. Woody,” said Paul. “MARAbio’s ultimate aim is to develop interventions so that families and their physicians have options to detect and limit the incidence of this subtype of autism.”
Prior to joining MARAbio, Paul co-founded Lineagen Inc. and served as its president, CEO and director from its 2006 inception to its acquisition in 2020. At Lineagen, Paul built a team of over 125 employees focused on providing clinical testing services for individuals with autism and other disorders of childhood development and clinical counseling for their families. He was appointed to the steering committee for the Utah Technology Industry Commission by former Gov. Michael O. Leavitt and served as its vice chair. Paul has also worked at the University of Utah Technology Transfer Office, where he marketed university inventions to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. He earned his B.A. from Colby College and his Ph.D. in molecular biology and biochemistry from the University of Utah.