Dr. Northrup received his PhD in 1990 from the UC Davis College of Engineering in biomedical engineering. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the Lawrence Lab, then as a research scientist and principal engineer. He also was a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley, from 1991 to 1996; and an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Radiology at the UC San Francisco Medical Center, from 1996 to 1999. During this time, he became the first scientist to demonstrate the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) process in a micro-machined silicon chip.

Dr. Northrup has been elected Member, National Academy of Engineering (NAE.edu) , Bioengineering Section and as a Fellow, American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers (AIMBE.edu), both in 2013.

In 1996, biomedical engineer M. Allen Northrup partnered with Thomas L. Gutshall and Kurt Petersen to found Cepheid, a company they hoped would become the reference standard for DNA analysis. Northrup soon became the chief technology officer and vice-president of research, and the company’s first product was released in 2000: the SmartCycler, a device that improved upon existing fast-cycling techniques for preparing DNA samples.

Cepheid, one of very few companies able to produce accurate biodetection units, was asked by federal agencies and the U.S. Army to develop a way to test for plague, botulism and anthrax. In December 2002, Cepheid became part of a consortium tasked to develop and install biodetection threat systems at U.S. Postal Service mail-sorting facilities.

As it happens, Dr. Northrup had left Cepheid in June 2001, in order to launch and become CEO of his own biotech start-up: MicroFluidic Systems, which debuted in November, mere months after the 9/11 attacks. Already looking beyond terrorism applications, Northrup’s new company quickly became known for the development of microfluidic systems for the automated preparation of biological assays: identification and monitoring technology for both biological pathogen and forensic DNA applications.

Northrup has more than 50 U.S. and foreign patents to his name, along with 40 peer-reviewed publications and several engineering and entrepreneurial business awards. Cepheid’s next-gen bio-analytical detection system, GenXpert — which Northrup co-invented — recently was approved by the World Health Organization for its tuberculosis test. In 2013 Northrup was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.