Melbourne – – September 09, 2026 -- Nutromics, a Melbourne-based wearable diagnostics startup, has appointed Professor Kevin W. Plaxco, the inventor of its core DNA-based sensing technology, as Chief Scientific Officer ahead of its first product launch planned for 2027.
Plaxco takes over as CSO from Justin Gooding, who remains on the Biosensor Advisory Board
Professor Plaxco succeeds Scientia Professor Justin Gooding in the role. Gooding will continue to serve on Nutromics' Biosensor Advisory Board, a group Plaxco previously chaired as an advisor since the company licensed his technology from co-founders Peter Vranes and Hitesh Mehta.
Plaxco's Electrochemical Aptamer-Based sensing research dates back to 1997 and underpinned a Nature Biotechnology human trial
CEO Peter Vranes said the field of Electrochemical Aptamer-Based (EAB) sensing, which the company calls DNA-based sensing, exists largely because of Plaxco's research beginning in 1997. His guidance contributed to Nutromics' published clinical trial in Nature Biotechnology, described by the company as the first demonstration of the technology in humans.
Nutromics plans to extend its platform beyond vancomycin to biomarkers including creatinine and lactate
Vranes said the company aims to use Plaxco's hands-on involvement to accelerate expansion of its sensing platform into additional drugs beyond vancomycin, as well as biomarkers such as creatinine and lactate. The company's wearable platform combines electrochemical aptamer-based sensors with minimally invasive microneedles designed to track multiple proteins, drugs, metabolites and hormones in real time.
Plaxco has co-authored nearly 300 papers and a dozen patents in molecular biophysics
Plaxco 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. He said his academic team's research has now been translated by Nutromics into technology ready for real-world use, and that his focus will be broadening the applications of the joint technology.
Plaxco joins La Trobe University in Melbourne while on leave from UC Santa Barbara
Alongside his Nutromics appointment, Plaxco has started as a Distinguished Professor at La Trobe University in Melbourne. He remains on leave from his position as Distinguished Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and continues to serve on scientific advisory boards for several other companies.
Nutromics' first product remains in development and has not yet received clearance from the FDA or any other regulatory body. The company operates in Australia and the United States.