Dr. James A. Hayward is president, CEO and Chairman of Applied DNA Sciences, a NASDAQ-listed (APDN) biotech company focused on three sectors: therapeutic nucleic acids (RNA and DNA), the use of genomics in diagnostic testing, and the use of DNA to secure supply chains. He received his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook (“Stony Brook”) in 1983 and an honorary Doctor of Science from the same institution in 2000. His experience with public companies began with the co-founding of one of England’s first biotechnology companies — Biocompatibles, Ltd. Following this, Dr. Hayward was at the Estee Lauder companies for five years, eventually becoming Head of Product Development. In 1990 he founded The Collaborative Group, a provider of products and services to the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and consumer-product industries based in Stony Brook, where he served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer for 14 years. During this period, The Collaborative Group created several businesses, including The Collaborative BioAlliance, a contract developer and manufacturer of human protein products that was sold to Dow Chemical in 2002, and Collaborative Labs, a service provider and manufacturer of ingredients for skincare and dermatology that was sold to Engelhard (now BASF) in 2004. He is the winner of the first Helix Award from BIO and has been twice elected Entrepreneur of the Year by Inc. Magazine and the Long Island Technology Hall of Fame. He has served on the Boards of The Stony Brook Foundation, the NYS Research Foundation, and the NYS Regents Advisory Board. Dr. Hayward serves on the advisory board of the Manufacturing and Technology Resource Consortium of Stony Brook University, and serves on the boards of Softheon Corporation, NeoMatrix Formulations, Inc. and the TNPO2 Foundation.