Our Founding Partners

Dr. Sakallah is a laboratory expert with over 30 years of experience covering all aspects of the laboratory business from set up to accreditation and everything in between, including operation, management and capacity building. His entire career, which included academia, private industry, major medical centers and international development revolved around the laboratory. Prior to GBS, Dr. Sakallah held positions in the world of international development, Public Health Laboratories, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the University of Michigan Medical School. During this time, he established several laboratory facilities and participated in numerous successful laboratory accreditation in the US (CLIA and CAP). His experience also includes laboratory accreditation assistance based on ISO standards where he led a number of such activities in Afghanistan and Africa. As a seasoned scientist he was responsible for the development of DNA-based tests for a number genetic and infectious diseases and managed clinical and public health laboratories in the US for many years. He also led several laboratory-based disease surveillance and outbreak investigations.

Dr. Sakallah received a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from Kuwait University and a Ph.D. in Medical Biochemistry from West Virginia University. He was the recipient of the Governor’s Initiative Award, State of New Hampshire, for excellence in responding to communicable disease crisis.

Dr. Kotob brings to GBS over 30 years of experience in the areas of soil microbiology, marine bacteriology, molecular biology, and human bacterial pathogens.  He is experienced in the use of DNA technology to detect human pathogens in food, drinking water, and aquatic environments. Prior to joining GBS Dr. Kotob directed R&D at a US environmental biotechnology company for nearly 15 years. Dr. Kotob recently established a general biotechnology laboratory at Techno Park, Gazi University, Turkey which included laboratory design, equipment specification and procurement, SOP development and training of local staff.  He previously held research positions at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the University of Maryland and the School of Marine Science at the College of William & Mary.  He was a principal/co-principal investigator on several national and international projects funded by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Dr. Kotob had a number of collaborative research with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Dr. Kotob earned a B.S. in Agriculture and Soil Microbiology from the University of Cairo, Egypt. He went on to earn an M.S. and Ph.D. in Microbiology and Molecular Biology from the University of Maryland. Dr. Kotob received the FDA’s Public Health Achievement Award in recognition for his work in the Bordetella pertussis laboratory.