Yun Bao, PhD profile page

Dr. Yun Bao has over 20 years of research and product development experience in molecular diagnostics, with expertise in qPCR, Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS), and clinical assay development. She has a strong record of leading projects from concept through development and validation to successful product launch. As co-founder and Head of R&D at Avida Biomed, Dr. Bao was a key inventor of the Point-n-Seq capture technology and directed the development of the Avida DNA, Methyl, and Duo kits. Her work also advanced core chemistries, including NGS library preparation, efficient cell-free DNA (cfDNA) extraction, and robust bisulfite conversion methods critical for methylation analysis. Before Avida, Dr. Bao was a founding member of the Advanced Genome Technology Center at Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT), where she built and led the Genomics Product Development team, creating a comprehensive NGS portfolio. At Verinata Health (now Illumina), she played a pivotal role in the development of the Verifi® non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT), one of the first cfDNA-based NGS assays for prenatal screening. Earlier in her career, Dr. Bao held key roles at Life Technologies and Pall Corporation, where she specialized in qPCR assay design, optimization, and validation to deliver high-sensitivity molecular assays. Since joining Agilent Technologies, she has continued to drive innovation, contributing to at least seven intellectual property filings in advanced NGS technologies and assay development. With extensive experience in NGS-based product development, methylation analysis, and liquid biopsy, Dr. Bao remains a leading contributor to innovation in oncology, prenatal testing, and emerging applications in precision medicine.