As we continue getting to know the people behind Quantabio, today we sit down with Brian Komorous, our senior director of marketing, applications, and support. He joined the company in 2016 and holds an MBA from Northeastern University as well as a BS in biochemistry from the University of Illinois, Chicago.
Q: What do you do at Quantabio?
A: I lead marketing, which includes product management and marketing communications, as well as field applications and technical support. Those functions really didn’t exist here when I joined, so I helped to build those teams and processes. Today, we are a small but mighty and diverse team of about 13 people across these groups. A big part of my role is working with team members to help set product and application directions that fuel the evolution of the brand and company. Our teams work cross-functionally with R&D, sales, and customers to create new and innovative products for basic research and applied markets. Overall, my goal is to foster a very positive customer journey, from learning about a product to applying the technology to existing and new market applications.
Q: What brought you to the company?
A: My background has spanned working with early-stage to multi-billion-dollar life science and diagnostic companies, with the last 10 to 15 years focused on the startup world. I really enjoy helping life science companies grow by applying new technologies to solve complex biological problems. After a couple of successful startup exits, I was looking for the next opportunity. I really hit it off with the leadership here; we were like-minded in our focus, passion, and initiative. This company had been around for about a dozen years then and I was excited about helping it find its way forward. It’s also an interesting challenge to think about bringing new products and new technologies to market when so much of the portfolio was about PCR and qPCR, areas that had been around for decades and felt somewhat commoditized.
Q: What’s the best thing about your job?
A: Hands down, this has been the best team I’ve worked with in my 20-year career. For most of my career I’ve worked at companies for a couple of years to help them quickly grow, and then moved on to the next opportunity. But I’ve stayed at Quantabio for more than seven years now because it feels like I’m working with close friends and family every day — and we’re all focused on a really good mission, which is to promote human health by empowering our customers.
Q: What do you wish more people knew about Quantabio?
A: The breadth of our product capabilities. PCR and qPCR may be based on 30-plus-year-old technologies, but scientists and clinical teams still need to amplify DNA and RNA robustly, especially from challenging sample types that may contain many PCR inhibitors or are of low quality or low inputs. Our products are behind the scenes in the applied space where people have laboratory-developed tests or validated assays. A whole host of our products are used by public health agencies, including the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and many more. Our products enable everything from validated respiratory infection assays to newborn screening assays. On the other end of the spectrum, Quantabio products are used in vet diagnostics, beverage testing, and even for the QC and genotyping of various agbio applications such as seed genotyping and GMO testing.
Q: Fill in the blank: Better reagents lead to ______.
A: Fewer headaches! Better reagents give you better performance, better results, fewer false positives, and even earlier detection of certain molecular signals. That’s all key to getting correct answers, faster and more economically.
Q: What’s your favorite thing to do in your spare time?
A: The spare time is few and far between these days, since most of my time is spent chasing around a 7-year-old and 4-year-old who are involved in all sorts of extracurricular school activities. But I love it — seeing my kids explore these various activities and sports gives me a chance to relive my own childhood while exposing them to more things than I was able to explore growing up. We also try to mix in some fun family trips throughout the year, whether that’s hiking a long weekend in Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine, or enjoying a relaxing week on a quintessential lake in Maine.
Q: What’s your ideal vacation?
A: My ideal vacation would be adventurous while offering the opportunity to continue learning about world history. Looking back, I’ve been fortunate to travel throughout the US, Europe, Africa, South and Central America, and parts of Asia. Looking ahead, I’d love to continue exploring by visiting even more wonders of the world, seeing the northern lights, visiting ancient ruins, and more.
3min
Nov 16, 2023
