Florence Wu, Ph.D.
President

Dr. Wu has over 20 years of academic and work experience in microbiology and mycology. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee, and her M.S. from the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 2002, Dr. Wu co-founded AEMTEK, INC. where she currently serves as President and CEO. Dr. Wu’s analytical experiences include detection and enumeration of microbial pathogens, fungal identification, microbial sampling and analysis of environmental samples, water and food products. Dr. Wu also provides technical consultation in food safety, environmental monitoring, and contamination control and is involved in product research and development. She has published numerous scientific papers and several book chapters as well as given many lectures and presentations on various microbiology subjects at national and international conferences. Dr. Wu has also been awarded the Woman-Owned Business of the Year in Fremont, California and Enterprising Woman of the Year 2009 by The National Association of Women Business Owners-Silicon Valley.

Tom Sidebottom
Executive Vice President

Tom has 32 years of public health experience with the U.S. FDA, Office of Regulatory Affairs, in testing, inspection and enforcement of federal safety, surety, security, and sanitation standards applied to manufactures, suppliers, distributors and importers of regulated products. His experience also includes developing scientific testing protocols to verify controls and validation of food safety programs, and developing novel approaches to meet regulatory standards. Tom has Over 30 years of educational outreach, extraneous material identification, and pest management experience, and 11 years of laboratory management experience of an ISO17025 accredited FDA laboratory in the SF Bay area. Tom’s unique federal experience provides valuable insight for clients navigating the regulatory environment.

Steven Huang, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President

Dr. Huang holds a doctorate in plant pathology and has over 20 years of academic and research experience in various areas of mycology, including plant pathogens, soil fungi, and fungal ecology and biodiversity. He was an associate professor at the Institute of Microbiology, and has been a visiting scholar at the International Mycological Institute (UK) and Duke University. Dr. Huang was a research associate at the University of Pittsburgh and has published many papers on mycology and plant pathology. He specializes in microbial recovery, identification, and PCR and DNA sequencing techniques.

Eric Wilhelmsen, Ph.D.
Technical Advisor

Dr. Wilhelmsen holds a Ph.D. in Ag and Environmental Chemistry, a M.S degree in Food Science and Technology and a B.S in Food Biochemistry, all from the University of California at Davis. Dr. Wilhelmsen acts as a technical advisor for AEMTEK and brings the following expertise to our company: (1) Technical consultation in food science, food safety, analytical chemistry, experimental design and statistical analysis (2) Evaluation and development of technologies for the food industry (3) Authentication and quality assessment of ingredients (4) Sampling techniques, shelf life and challenge studies, and product research and development (5) Expert witness for food authentication, fruit and vegetable products and processes (6) Problem analysis and troubleshooting of food products and processes.

Heidi Wright, Ph.D.
Director of Research

Dr. Heidi Wright has a Ph.D. degree in Food Science & Technology and Toxicology from Iowa State University where she specialized in research areas related to natural antimicrobials in food and pharmaceutical applications. She also has a M.S in Biological Science with a specialization in Microbiology from South Dakota State University. Her research included extension outreach in food safety training. She has over 12 years of academic and industry experience in the areas of food safety, antimicrobials and microbiology research, including method development, validation testing and study designs for challenge and shelf life studies.

Feifei Han, Ph.D.
Director of Food Testing

Dr. Han earned her Ph.D. degree in Food Science at Louisiana State University, and B.S. degree in Food Science at the China Agricultural University. She has extensive experience working with various food pathogens, such as Salmonella, Vibrio, Campylobacter, and Listeria. Dr. Han has published thirteen peer-reviewed articles in internationally renowned journals, and has given many presentations at national conferences. Dr. Han is also an active member of many organizations, including the International Association for Food Protection, Institute of Food Technologists, and American Society for Microbiology.

Brook Liu, Ph.D.
Director of Environmental Testing

Dr. Brook Liu holds a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Iowa, where her research focused on environmental microbiology. Dr. Liu conducted studies on bioremediation of chlorinated solvent-contaminated groundwater using bacteria and had published her findings in internationally renowned microbiology journals. Dr. Liu is an active member of International Society of Microbial Ecology, American Society of Chemistry, American Society of Microbiology and local environmental engineer chapters. In addition to having mastered direct microscopy, culture-based analysis, and numerous microbiology techniques, she specializes in microbial identification, molecular biotechnologies and next-generation DNA sequencing.

Susan Le
QA Manager

Ms. Le earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Nutritional Sciences, with a focus on Environmental Food and Health Specialization, from San Jose State University. She gained extensive analytical experiences before being promoted to Quality Assurance Manager. Susan’s primary responsibilities include establishing, supervising, and maintaining AEMTEK’s Quality Assurance System. She has completed training in ISO/IEC 17025 standards and takes leadership role in ensuring compliance to A2LA, AIHA, and ELAP accreditation requirements.

Jessica Soslow
Marketing and Sales

Ms. Soslow earned her Bachelor of Business Administration from the George Washington University School of Business, with concentrations in Marketing and Psychology. After joining AEMTEK, Jessica has received training in food microbiology, cGMP, HACCP, environmental monitoring plan, and food science, which enables her to have meaningful dialog about technical issues with our clients. Jessica is responsible for the marketing outreach, training & events coordination, and new client on-boarding here at AEMTEK. It is likely her bubbly personality and bright smile that you will be greeted with when you visit us at trade shows.

Kim Wright
Account Manager

Ms. Wright earned her bachelor of science degree in microbiology from UC Davis. She has over 5 years of experience in customer service and technical support in the biotechnology industry, and is cGMP trained and certified. Kim is responsible for technical support at AEMTEK, acting as the liaison between the lab and our clients.

Sharon Spencer
Customer Service Manager

Mrs. Spencer joined AEMTEK in 2004. She holds an Associate in Arts degree in liberal arts studies and has many years of experience in customer service, faculty support, and clerical services. Sharon is responsible for sample receiving, data reporting, and client communications. Sharon handles customer service issues and responds to inquires about project status. It is usually Sharon’s friendly voice you will hear when you call us.