Team
Shaun R. Opie, PhD
Founder and Managing Partner
Dr. Opie is a seasoned entrepreneur having funded, operated, acquired, and sold multiple laboratories in different verticals including medical research, clinical diagnostics, and cannabis safety testing. Dr. Opie has helped multiple accredited investors throughout the US to set up, operate, and sell cannabis laboratories. He is a participating member of the AOAC International - Cannabis Analytical Science Program (Microbiological Contaminants & Proficiency Testing), a workgroup member for the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency, and a regular speaker about the cannabis laboratory industry. His new textbook, "Cannabis Laboratory Fundamentals" published by Springer-Nature is available at multiple on-line retailers..
Abdou Mekebri, PhD
Analytical Chemistry Consultant
Dr. Mekebri is a mass spectrometry chemist with over 30 years of experience in pesticide residue and chemical analysis. After receiving his PhD, Abdou was a Laboratory Manager and Chief Scientist for the State of California for 22 years and developed, optimized, and validated many of the testing methods currently in use. He was a consultant and instructor for Agilent Technologies and assisted many Agilent clients in implementing and troubleshooting new methods of testing in pesticide, food safety, and environmental testing.
Since 2019, Dr. Mekebri has been actively involved in the cannabis testing industry assisting with the set-up, maintenance, and expansion of accredited cannabis testing laboratories in Texas and Nevada.
Jeff Angermann, PhD
Microbiology Consultant
Dr. Angermann is a founding member of 374 Labs, LLC, and has been active in the cannabis industry since 2013. 374 Labs was the first laboratory in Nevada to achieve ISO 17025 certification and certify medical cannabis products for sale in 2015, prior to the state's legalization of recreational cannabis in 2017. He is an active member of the AOAC International Cannabis Analytical Science Program, and currently serves on the Microbial Contaminant Expert Review Panel, where he has the opportunity to evaluate emerging methods of microbial contaminant detection.
His primary specialization is the remote and onsite assessment and remediation of microbiological contaminants in cannabis cultivation and production facilities; In Nevada, he has conducted 15 full facility audits to date, saving cultivators and producers millions of dollars in revenue from the avoidance of harvest and production lot failures. Dr. Angermann has extensive experience with analytical and microbiological method development, and specializes in adapting existing cannabis laboratory methods to the requirements of individual state markets. Dr. Angermann also develops methods and low-cost instruments for contaminant testing of both cannabis and nicotine vape products.
Chris McGuire
Analytical Instrumentation Consultant
Chris earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Nipissing University in North Bay Ontario Canada. He started his analytical industry career working in environmental testing. From there, Chris worked as a Field Service Engineer supporting Agilent chromatography, mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis instrumentation. Chris serviced Agilent instruments across North America and the Caribbean before joining Shimadzu Scientific Instruments where he worked as a Technical Support Scientist. At Shimadzu, Chris was on the forefront of the application development for compliance and safety testing of cannabis products. Chris’ support of the cannabis testing industry has involved work in California, Arizona, Michigan, and Ontario Canada. Chris offers instrumentation, application, and regulatory support to laboratories across North America.
Darryl Johnson, PhD
Testing Validation Consultant
Dr. Johnson has worked in the cannabis industry since 2016, serving as Scientific Director of a safety and potency testing laboratory and Laboratory Director of a nicotine and cannabis emissions testing laboratory. During his time in the cannabis industry, Darryl has validated safety and potency testing assays, led a laboratory through ISO 17025 accreditation, developed methods to measure emissions generated by cannabis vaporization devices, and served on the Laboratory Working Group for the Governor’s Task Force for the implementation of marijuana legalization in Nevada. He also has experience working with lobbyists, regulators, and legislators to improve cannabis safety testing regulations and has supported cannabis operations in California, Nevada, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas.
Dr. Johnson received his PhD in Bioanalytical Chemistry from the University of Georgia. Following graduation, he completed an ORISE Fellowship at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), developing LC-MS/MS methods to detect human exposure to nerve agents.
Carl Yamashiro, PhD
Cannabis R&D Consultant
Dr. Yamashiro brings more than 25 years of R&D industry experience in the biotechnology and in vitro diagnostics arenas. This includes executive and senior leadership positions and R&D management positions in large medical device and diagnostics companies, as well as the VP of Product Development at PathogenDx, where he led efforts in assay development for pathogen detection using microarrays for botanicals, food and environmental testing/monitoring, as well as strategic planning and technology assessments.
Carl believes the future of cannabis safety must include regular environmental testing to mitigate the financial losses related to yeast and mold contamination in cultivation, manufacturing, and laboratory facilities to demonstrate adherence to GMP production and ISO 17025 standards.