About

Principal

Anne Vacca Smith, Ph.D.

Anne Vacca Smith, PhD, is a proven Project Leader in the medical device industry and serves as Chief Project Management Advisor for Arkatecht. She holds a BS in Biology from St. John Fisher College, a MA and PhD in Microbiology from State University of New York at Buffalo.

Anne started her career as an NIH-funded Cariologist Trainee Post-Doctoral Fellow in the then Department of Dental Research at University of Rochester and became a Research Assistant Professor when the department became The Center for Oral Biology. Anne’s research centered around enzymes that promoted the biofilm formation by oral microorganisms on salivary-coated surfaces and subsequent tooth decay. She has published numerous papers and presented her research globally at conferences where she also served as session chair and was also the recipient of several awards for her research, in addition to serving as ad hoc reviewer for several peer-reviewed journals. Anne’s research at The Center for Oral Microbiology culminated in a patent for an antibodies used in the prediction of dental caries.

Anne continued her academic career at the University of Rochester as Research Assistant Professor in The Department of Microbiology where she managed a clinical serology testing lab for vaccine trial samples and also participated in otitis media research programs. During her appointment in The Department of Microbiology Anne also served as a Study Section member for the NIH SBIR/STTR Grants in Biosensors and Detectors.

Anne shifted her career to industry when she accepted a role as a Senior Scientist at Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Johnson and Johnson, where she supported Materials and Process Development for in vitro diagnostic clinical tests, specializing in enabling technologies. Anne then became a Program Leader in The Office of Program Management where she led cross-functional internal and external teams in the development of clinical diagnostic assays using a gate-staged product delivery system. As a Program Leader, Anne was responsible for the launch of 19 new products (15 Ex-US products, 2 global products, and 2 products specific for Japan) and the instrument migration of 71 global products.

Anne also has experience in plastics engineering in design and manufacturing of plastic parts and manufacturing automation.

Anne is married with two children, one of whom is married and pursing a PhD in Computational Chemistry, and the second is in high school. In her free time, Anne enjoys spending time with her family and practicing her hobby of drawing.