Team

Josh Gunn, Ph.D. (Chief Scientific Officer)

Josh Gunn has served as the Chief Scientific Officer for Ethos Research & Development since its founding in 2013 and is responsible for directing all clinical and laboratory research efforts. As CSO, Josh oversees our portfolio of intellectual property, prepares and submits all scientific and medical publications and provides clinical consultation to our industry partner, Ethos Laboratories. Prior to co-founding Ethos R&D, Josh was a postmortem toxicologist with one of the largest toxicology laboratories in the United States where he provided medicolegal consultations in cases involving drugs of abuse, therapeutics and poisons. Providing consultation to medical examiners, coroners, pathologists and attorneys on the role of opioids in countless suspected overdose cases sparked Josh’s interest in developing novel tools for the thousands of healthcare professionals who treat chronic pain on a daily basis. Josh holds a doctoral degree in Chemistry from West Virginia University, an Honors degree in Analytical Chemistry from Deakin University (Australia) and a Bachelor of Science degree in Forensic Science from Deakin University.  Outside of work Josh enjoys golfing, skiing and spending time with his wife Ashley and their three kids Lila, Harvey and Jack.

Melissa Hill (Senior Analytical Scientist)

Melissa has served as lead analytical scientist at Ethos Research & Development since 2015 and is responsible for day to day laboratory operations, method development and managing laboratory safety and compliance programs. Melissa was responsible for the development and clinical validation of the functional biomarker test panel which has since been offered to clients across the US by our industry partner, Ethos Laboratories. Melissa continues to act as scientific liaison for Ethos Laboratories and routinely assists with method development, optimization and validation. Melissa is also responsible for the analysis of all clinical samples received from our IRB approved study sites. In addition to these responsibilities, Melissa also manages our academic research collaborations including a recently completed study with Harvard Medical School which involved the analysis of more than 800 clinical samples and resulted in a peer reviewed publication. Melissa holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Northern Kentucky University and completed her graduate work at Georgia Tech in post-translational proteomic studies. Outside of work Melissa enjoys cooking, crafting, fantasy football, video games and spending time with her husband Roger and daughter Helaina.

Bradley Cotten (Scientific Grant Writer)

Brad Cotten has served as the scientific grant writer for Ethos Research & Development since early 2018. Brad is responsible for preparing and submitting grant proposals to the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program of federal funding agencies including the National Institute of Health (NIH), Department of Defense (DoD), National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Brad also serves as Ethos R&D’s in house biostatistician and performs all data analysis and statistical modeling for Ethos R&D projects and clinical studies. Brad also plays a key role in formulating research ideas and strategies for Ethos R&D by investigating avenues of human health research that comply with our business model and objectives.

Since joining Ethos R&D in early 2018, Brad has submitted nine grant proposals to five state and federal funding agencies. Brad has also played a central role in the development and validation of statistical algorithms which utilize metabolomic data as inputs to generate biosignatures in patients suffering from chronic pain disorders. This technology will allow healthcare providers to more accurately diagnose and better treat patients with chronic pain of unknown etiology. Brad holds a Master of Science degree in Nutritional Biochemistry from The Ohio State University, a Master of Science degree in Animal Science from Purdue University and Bachelor of Science in Animal Science from Purdue University.

Brad and his wife Stephanie live in southeast Indiana where they enjoy outdoor activities such as tennis, golf, fishing and hiking with their dog, Tucker.