Stevia Corp. Announces Appointment of the Former Chief Science Officer for Quest Diagnostics to its Scientific Advisory Panel

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / June 14, 2022 / Stevia Corp. (OTC PINK:STEV) ("Stevia Corp" or the "Company"), a healthcare company focused on the commercial development of products that support a healthy lifestyle announced today the appointment of David L. Cooper, Ph.D.. M.D., CEO and Founder of PhytoMedical Solutions, LLC and PhytoDental Solutions, LLC to its scientific advisory panel. Dr. Cooper received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Florida State University and his M.D. from the University of Florida.

Dr. Cooper served originally as the Chief Science Officer and Chief Operating Officer for Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute and later as Chief Science Officer of Quest Diagnostics (DGX:NYSE). The Nichols Institute, a wholly-owned division of Quest Diagnostics, is the premier reference lab for Quest Diagnostics. The Nichols Institute is also known as one of the premier reference labs in the entire world (Nichols Institute: The Quest Diagnostics Advantage - YouTube)

While at Quest Diagnostics, Dr. Cooper coordinated the Nichols Institute's move for Quest to an ISO 9001 Company, expanded their HIV and Genetic Testing, and reorganized the Nichols Institute Research and Test Development efforts into a clinical specialty focus. Dr. Cooper also assisted in opening new markets for Quest Diagnostics in Asia, South America and Europe.

Dr. Cooper subsequently served as Chief Medical Officer of NimbleGen Systems Inc. While at NimbleGen Systems, Dr. Cooper established NimbleGen Systems of Iceland, LLC, which manufactured custom DNA arrays and related services to the scientific research marketplace worldwide. Dr. Cooper also served as Senior Scientific Advisor to Visible Genetics, Inc. of Toronto, Canada, where he assisted with the development of the TRUGENE ^TM HIV-1 Genotyping Kit, the first FDA approved drug resistance test for routine clinical use.

In academia, Dr. Cooper has held tenured Pathology faculty positions at Duke University Medical Center and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. While Professor of Molecular Pathology at Duke and UPMC, Dr. Cooper's research focused on defining the various isoforms and role of CD44 in tumor metastasis. His original research continues to be highly regarded and regularly referenced as CD44 therapeutics have moved into clinical trials. While at the University of Pittsburgh, he founded the first division of Molecular Pathology in the United States, assisted in founding and served as the first President of the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP), and was editor and founder of the journal, Molecular Diagnosis - "A journal devoted to the understanding of human disease through the clinical application of molecular biology." His academic honors include the prestigious Lichfield Lectureship, Oxford University, Oxford, England. Dr. Cooper is the author of more than 100 scientific and medical publications in molecular diagnostics, infectious disease, hematology, cancer, human genetics, pediatrics, precision medicine and the development of novel gene therapies which were supported by numerous grants including grants from the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society and the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Initiative. Dr. Cooper continues to be active publishing his most recent clinical research in three manuscripts in the international, peer reviewed, open access Journal Clinics in Medicine (ISSN: 2688-6731) in the last year.