Applied DNA Announces Retirement of Chairperson and CEO Dr. James A. Hayward

President and COO Judy Murrah Appointed New Chairperson of the Board of Directors and CEO

STONY BROOK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / June 17, 2025 / Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:APDN) ("Applied DNA" or the "Company"), a leader in PCR-based DNA technologies, today announced that Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Dr. James A. Hayward is retiring from the Company and will step down from the Board of Directors effective June 18, 2025, following a distinguished 20-year term. During his tenure, Dr. Hayward was instrumental in transforming the Company's proprietary DNA production and detection technologies into commercial platforms, thereby establishing the foundation for Applied DNA's current market offerings.

Furthermore, the Board of Directors of Applied DNA has appointed Judy Murrah to the roles of Chairperson, Board Director, and Chief Executive Officer in addition to retaining her current position as President. Ms. Murrah will lead the executive management team, which comprises Clay Shorrock, Chief Legal Officer and President of LineaRx, the Company's biotherapeutics subsidiary, and Beth Jantzen, Chief Financial Officer.

With over a decade of operational leadership at Applied DNA, Ms. Murrah has been influential in driving product commercialization, business scaling, and, more recently, the launch of the Company's GMP-compliant DNA manufacturing capabilities. She was previously with Symbol Technologies ("Symbol"), where she played key roles in the company's growth from an early-stage company to an enterprise with approximately $2 billion in revenue and 5,000 employees, holding successive Vice President positions across Sales, Marketing, and Information Technology. Following Symbol's acquisition by Motorola, Inc. ("Motorola"), she held strategic leadership roles at Motorola, overseeing critical financial management, quality, and program management initiatives during significant business transformations, mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. Ms. Murrah is an inventor on 14 U.S. patents and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Board Director Robert C. Catell stated, "On behalf of all the employees of the Company and the Board of Directors, I offer sincere thanks to Jim for his many years of scientific innovation, personal contribution, and passion he brought to Applied DNA. His accomplishments and impact are wide-ranging and will endure with the Applied DNA team and the local Long Island community."