As a research scientist in industry, Dr. Janjic has been involved in the development of novel therapeutic and diagnostic products for the last 22 years. Following graduate training in physical organic chemistry at the University of Washington and post-doctoral work on catalytic antibodies (proteins that can enhance chemical and metabolic reactions in the body) at Scripps, Dr. Janjic joined the first aptamer (molecules that bind specific targets) company, a start-up in Boulder, Colorado called NeXagen (which later became NeXstar). At NeXstar, he was involved in exploring the boundaries of aptamer technology against a range of molecular targets across several therapeutic areas. Dr. Janjic's responsibilities evolved toward creating a pipeline of aptamer-based drug candidates for pre-clinical and clinical development; his contributions included the discovery and early development of Macugen (a vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitor; a drug that blocks blood vessel growth), the first-in-class US Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment for macular degeneration (named Innovative Pharmaceutical Product of the Year in 2005) and Fovista (a platelet-derived growth factor inhibitor; a drug that blocks blood clotting), which is currently in Phase III testing for macular degeneration (a disease that causes vision loss). As chief science officer at SomaLogic since 2009, Dr. Janjic has been involved in developing and optimizing a new generation of aptamers called Slow Off-rate Modified Aptamers and identifying new opportunities for their use in science and medicine.