(919) 578-7532 | 1017 Main Campus Dr, Suite 2300 Raleigh, NC 27606
Mark Self is a go-to market executive experienced in growing B2B technology businesses of all sizes, both domestically and internationally. He has a degree from the University of California, Davis and a Masters degree in management and marketing from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University. Mark brings sales leadership, marketing strategy and execution, product-market fit, product marketing, business partner strategy, and recruitment expertise to Vector Textiles through experience at IBM, Motorola Solutions, and NCR. In addition to his operational skills, Mark has board and angel investment experience, having served on the first executive committee at Triangle Angel Partners. Mark is currently focused on scaling early-stage companies in the Raleigh/Durham and North Carolina area.
Ryan Darden is a recent textile engineering graduate from North Carolina State University (NCSU). He has both a B.S. and a non-thesis M.S. in textile engineering from NCSU. His experiences in research to optimize various forms of apparel and with industry to develop a novel product and improve quality demonstrate his analytical skills and high attention to detail. His desire to help create beneficial products and build an impactful brand has led him to work with Vector Textiles from the beginning.
Charles S. Apperson is a vector biologist primarily interested in basic and applied research on the ecology, behavior and control of arthropods of public health importance, such as mosquitoes and ticks. Additionally, he has researched the biology and ecology of container-inhabiting mosquitos and the ecoepidemiology of mosquito-transmitted diseases and tick-borne diseases. Dr. Apperson has 40+ years of experience as a public health entomologist, researching arthropod-host interactions that include blood feeding and pathogen transmission. He is especially interested in understanding arthropod behavior for the ability to control arthropods of public health interest.
Emiel DenHartog, before moving to NCSU, worked for 15 years in Defense research on evaluation and innovation of military protective clothing systems, eventually studying the impact of protective clothing on the human body. At NCSU, he continues to be at the forefront of the field, where his most recent work has focused on the local interaction of fabrics and materials with the skin and the effects of the local microclimate on skin health. His research centers around using and developing testing and evaluation methods for functional textiles to demonstrate and quantify protection, performance, health and comfort of clothing and related textile products that interact with the body.
Michael Roe primarily focuses on insect toxicology and physiological genomics. His lab is currently developing diagnostic technologies for the management of insect resistance to traditional chemical insecticides, transgenic crops, and the management of insect vector borne-diseases. His lab is very interested in the development and effects of mechanical (versus chemical) vector repellents and the impact of environmental chemical repellents (e.g. DEET) on gene expression in the human liver. Roe’s interest in non-chemical repellents has led to research in the development of novel, traditional, and transgenic pest control technologies and the use of textiles in applied entomology.
Andre West has been in the apparel business for over 35 years; in fashion trend forecasting, fashion design, textile design, manufacturing, retailing and finally in academic research and teaching. His present research heavily involves the use of technology within the fashion design process inclusive of consumer driven customization in the world of digital printing, 3-D virtual garment making, generative design, 3-D body scanning, and whole garment knitwear. He is currently in charge of the ZTE Department which is the industrial service arm of the college. His latest research is the design and manufacturing of vector resistant fabrications without the use of harmful chemicals, pesticides or repellants for military development.
Dr. Chouaibou Mouhamadou began his career studying medical entomology, focusing on malaria vector control. Mouhamadou then worked with the Carter Center Foundation in its onchocerciasis vector control program in Cameroon before joining Vestergaard, an ITN manufacturing company. After leaving Vestergaard, Mouhamadou was awarded a Wellcome Trust Fellowship (2015) to investigate the role of agricultural pesticides in the development of insecticide resistance in malaria vectors in Africa. Through conducting research in collaboration with the Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC), he developed a mosquito trapping net (T-Net) that combines chemical and mechanical action in order to overcome insecticide resistance in malaria vectors. Mouhamadou currently works as an ITN Technical Advisor at Population Services International for the PMI/VectorLink project.
Marian G. McCord has over 25 years of experience in development and characterization of protective and medical textiles and has been active in consulting for the medical device industry. McCord sees her research field as "textiles as health interventions" - i.e., textiles that prevent or treat disease, or improve human health and well-being. Between 2010-15, she was the Director of Global Health Initiatives in the Office of International Affairs, Professor of Forest Biomaterials, and Associate Dean for Research in the College of Natural Resources at NCSU. At UNH, McCord oversees all research operations, cooperative extension, innovation, and professional development. McCord is a co-founder of Katharos, Inc., a company that aims to provide phosphate filtration solutions for end-stage renal disease patients.
Dr. Kun Luan is primarily interested in using knowledge of textile sciences and solid mechanics to solve engineer issues related to safety and well-being in our lives. His specific research includes mathematic and computation in textiles, computational “smart” textiles, and textile-based body armor. He earned both bachelor’s and PhD’s degrees from Donghua University, China. Prior to joining North Carolina State University (NCSU), he worked at the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences for the development of computational mechanics of the advancement ceramic textiles and composites. At NCSU, he used his expertise in conducting basic studies in the Material Sciences at the intersection of textiles and mathematics to develop bite-resistant fabrics and “smart” textiles for military uniforms and other regular civilian garments.
Grayson Cave is a Ph.D student with Dr. R. Michael Roe at North Carolina State University. Grayson’s research focuses on novel techniques and materials for use in integrated pest management. Grayson received both an undergraduate and masters in biochemistry, and has worked at the Center for Integrated Pest Management funded by the United States Department of Agriculture. Additionally, he oversees the Roe Lab Insectary at North Carolina State University.
We are currently raising capital to help get these innovative products to market. Please use the contact form to contact us regarding this opportunity.
Vector Textiles
P.O. Box 10094 Raleigh, NC 27605
(919) 578-7532
mself@vectortextiles.com
