Our Approach
We excel in our business because the services we provide are fast, reliable, and of the highest caliber. We don't merely run tests and send results--we provide customized solutions. Clients are drawn to us because we work with them as a thought partner, helping them think through their challenges and find solutions to their problems.
Our Story
After observing how states across the country were moving toward the legalization of medicinal and adult-use cannabis, the principals at Elbert Testing Labs recognized that there was an opportunity to apply their knowledge and experience from the pharma and biotech space to cannabis testing, in the state of New Jersey and across the country. What we do best is work with our customers to truly understand their work and their goals, so we can properly advise them, provide the services they need, and deliver timely, accurate results. We gain greatest satisfaction when our customers tell us how impressed they were with our work—and return to us the next time or refer new clients to us.
Meet the Team
Our principals came from PBL Assay Science, where they focused on developing and manufacturing specialty cytokine products and providing testing services to the biotech and pharmaceutical industries.
Robert Pestka
Founder & CEO
Mr. Pestka has over 20 years' experience at PBL Assay Science, where he built the company from an initial investment of $30,000 into the largest manufacturer and supplier of interferon test kits and reagents for research use in the world. Under his leadership, the company developed a parallel line of business providing testing services to clients at pharmaceutical companies large and small, at established and virtual biotech companies, and at universities and research institutions around the world. He has helped write and secure grants from the National Cancer Institute and the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology. Mr. Pestka received a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Princeton University.
Greggory Kisiel
Chief Operations Officer
Mr. Kisiel received a Bachelor of Science at Illinois Institute of Technology and a Master of Science at The University of Memphis and University of Tennessee joint program in biomedical engineering, specializing in the application of neural systems and electrochemical biosensors to point-of-care diagnostics. He was recruited by a global, high-growth diagnostic company to found and build its US Regulatory and QC Department. During his tenure, Mr. Kisiel designed and commercialized novel LDT assays to support infectious disease diagnosis and methods for clinical rejection scoring of allograft candidates, while heavily supporting regulatory efforts toward the approval of BLAs focused on tick borne disease. At PBL Assay Science, Mr. Kisiel directed a department of assay development scientists and guided pipeline strategy to deliver cutting-edge products geared toward high-sensitivity cytokine detection.
Eric Smidt
Director, Business Development
Mr. Smidt is responsible for client development. He joins Elbert Testing Labs after a 28-year career in finance where he educated potential clients and on-boarded, grew, and successfully managed relationships with both broker-dealer and investor clients including Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Royal Bank of Canada, and dozens of other financial institutions of varying sizes. He has helped build global businesses and has managed staff and services cross regionally. He is looking forward to translating to the cannabis industry his passion for servicing clients at the highest level. Mr. Smidt received a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Syracuse University.
David Egerton
Technical Services Advisor
Mr. Egerton has led third-party cannabis quality assurance testing as Laboratory Director at EVIO Labs and Vice President of Technical Services at CW Analytical. During the 8 years he has spent in the industry, he has developed and fine-tuned cannabis testing methods and Standard Operating Procedures ("SOPs"); spearheaded ISO 17025 accreditation and regulatory compliance; assisted dozens of clients to improve testing procedures and optimize manufacturing processes and product formulations; set up and coordinated vendor and inter-lab collaborations; and designed cannabis testing lab facilities and workflow. Mr. Egerton received a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry and a Master of Science in Physical Chemistry from the University of Louisville.
Next Steps...
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