Michael A. Byers is the President, CEO and Managing Member of CryoCyte, LLC. Before purchasing CryoCyte he founded its’ parent company BHC, LLC d/b/a Cryopoint (www.cryopointllc.com) which he also serves as the President, CEO and Managing Member. Mr. Byers also serves as the CEO and Founder of Tooth Bank, LLC (www.toothbank.com), an industry-leading dental stem cell banking company. Prior to founding Cryopoint, Mr. Byers was the Vice President of Operations at General BioTechnology, LLC and The Genesis Bank, LLC. He also co-founded VialCo, LLC and Renovocyte, LLC and served as Secretary of the Board for both entities, respectively, from their date of founding in 2008 to 2011. Mr. Byers has extensive experience in cryopreservation, first conducting research in the area at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Mr. Byers has actively continued both basic and applied research in cryobiology and is a former member of the Society for Cryobiology.
Mr. Byers is one of a handful of HCT/P Lead Assessors for the American Association of Bloods Banks (AABB) and services on the AABB Board of Directors to the Cellular Therapy Accreditation Program Unit and a member of the American Society for Quality (ASQ). The AABB Accreditation Program promotes the highest standard of care for patients and donors in all aspects of transfusion medicine and cellular therapies. AABB accreditation is recognized at both a national and international level. This is accomplished by the administration of the Assessor Program. Assessors evaluate a facility’s Quality and Operational systems to determine whether the service they provide is appropriate and in control. The program provides both the assessors and the facility educational exposure to new ideas with regard to quality systems, techniques and operations. Mr. Byers has inspected cellular therapy facilities throughout the United States, Asia, Middle East, Central America, South America and Europe.
Mr. Byers has extensive laboratory and management experience working at Eli Lilly and Co., Indiana University School of Medicine, Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine, and several consultant projects throughout the United States and Europe.
Mr. Byers received his Bachelor of Science degree in Neuroscience from Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. Mr. Byers then received a Master’s in International Operations and Finance from the German International Graduate School for Management and an MBA in operations from the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN.
He has and continues to collaborate with industry and academia conducting research with the Mayo Clinic, University of Missouri Veterinary School, IU School of Medicine, University of Washington, BioLife Solutions, Aastrom Biosciences, West Pharmaceuticals, Medistem, Americord Registry, Lonza Ltd., Indiana University Health, St. Vincent Women’s Hospital, Praxair, Inc., BioMed Supply, Alamo Tissue Service, Hendrick’s Regional Health and Medivative Technologies. He has published journal articles in the fields of cryobiology, hematology and neuroscience and has worked on several grants through the US NIH and the State of Indiana.
Finally, Mr. Byers has published several peer-reviewed studies and worked with colleagues completing grant work to optimize methods to prepare stem cells from extracted and deciduous teeth, placental tissue and umbilical cord blood with an extremely high rate of recovery. Mr. Byers has also volunteered his time and expertise to work with the Smithsonian Institute, National Zoo and SECORE to tackle the loss of coral reefs in the Caribbean. This research will be another stepping stone towards building a backup for endangered corals in cryo banks throughout the World for the future.
