Patrick Stayton

Patrick Stayton, is the Washington Research Foundation professor of bioengineering and director of the Molecular Engineering and Sciences Institute. His research areas include “smart” molecular materials designed for applications in the drug delivery and bioanalytical fields. Stayton’s technologies are the basis of two UW spin-out companies. The first company, PhaseRx, founded in 2007, is an RNAi delivery technology company developing a polymer-based system that enables the systemic delivery of RNAi drugs. PhaseRx has attracted $19 million in venture funding. The second company Nexgenia, founded by Stayton in 2012, utilizes advanced nanotechnology to replace traditional micro beads for immunoassay diagnostic testing and analysis. In 2005, together with professor Paul Yager, Stayton created the Pacific Northwest diagnostic consortium that received $15 million in 2005 to develop a diagnostic device for developing countries, in collaboration with other not-for-profit (PATH) and for-profit (Micronics, Epoch) entities. This funding yielded the development of the DxBox, manufactured by Micronics.