MELBOURNE, Australia, Sept. 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Nutromics, a Melbourne-based startup leading the frontier of DNA-based sensing, has announced the appointment of Professor Kevin W. Plaxco as Chief Scientific Officer (CSO). The company is preparing for the launch of its first product in 2027, while simultaneously extending its wearable platform to other targets. This extension is where Professor Plaxco’s strategic focus will lie.
Professor Plaxco invented Nutromics’ DNA-based sensing technology and has enjoyed a long association with the company. He first started collaborating with the co-founders, Peter Vranes and Hitesh Mehta, when they licensed his technology. Since then, he has served as an advisor, leading the company’s Biosensor Advisory Board. His guidance has been key to several major milestones, including the company’s world-first published clinical trial in Nature Biotechnology demonstrating the technology in humans.
Commenting on the appointment, CEO and co-founder Peter Vranes said “The field of Electrochemical Aptamer-Based (EAB) sensing or DNA-based sensing, as we refer to it, exists largely due to Kevin’s breakthrough research. Kevin has had a role in enabling almost every major breakthrough in the field, starting 1997. His work has brought continuous molecular monitoring out of the realm of science fiction and into reality. We believe that with his hands-on guidance, we can extend our platform faster into drugs beyond vancomycin and also biomarkers such as creatinine and lactate.”
Professor Plaxco has co-authored nearly 300 papers and a dozen patents on molecular biophysics and biomolecule-based technologies. For these advances, he has been elected a member of the National Academy of Inventors and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the International Society for Electrochemistry, and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.
Commenting on his decision to shift his focus to Nutromics, Professor Plaxco said “When you start your career as a researcher you hope for two things. The first is to discover or invent something that impacts the field. The second is to discover or invent something that impacts humanity. I believe that EAB sensors fulfil both of those criteria, with the team at Nutromics playing a key role in the latter. They have done a simply phenomenal job of translating my academic team’s research into a technology ready for real-world use. Moving forward, I look forward to working with Nutromics, where my role will be to broaden the applications our now-joint technology. Given its potential, I truly believe we can make it ubiquitous in the hospital and at home.”
Alongside his appointment at Nutromics, Professor Plaxco has commenced at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia, as a Distinguished Professor. In the interim, he remains on leave from his position as Distinguished Professor at UC Santa Barbara. Kevin also serves on the scientific advisory boards of several companies.
Professor Plaxco succeeds Scientia Prof Justin Gooding as CSO. Professor Gooding continues to serve on Nutromics’ Biosensor Advisory Board.
About Nutromics
Nutromics is an Australian-founded advanced monitoring company that has built a wearable, DNA-based platform for continuous molecular monitoring. Its electrochemical aptamer-based sensors, integrated with minimally invasive microneedles, are designed to sense multiple proteins, drugs, metabolites, and hormones in real time. Nutromics is advancing towards regulatory clearance and commercial launch of its first product, with operations in Australia and the United States. This product is currently in development and has not yet been approved by the FDA, or any regulatory body. The company’s vision is a world with zero preventable deaths due to a lack of continuous molecular monitoring.
