Alexander "Xander” Krohannon, Ph.D.

Alexander “Xander” Krohannon, Ph.D., is a technical advisor who plays an integral part of the firm's Intellectual Property Department and Patent Counseling & Prosecution Practice Group.  

For more than a decade, Xander’s research focused on the execution next generation sequencing (NGS), including the use of machine learning algorithms, deep learning, and other high-performance computing in utilizing bioinformatics tools to perform comprehensive research.  Xander then began to focus his research on the application of deep learning in NGS and other high throughput methods to understand cellular methods of RNA regulation.  His previous work included the development of a CRISPR-Cas13 sgRNA designer.  However, Xander also has experience working with a variety of bioinformatics and next generation sequencing tools, including CRISPR, GC-MS, HPLC-MS, bedtools, fastqc, fastx, hisat2, macs2, and tophat.

As a part of his graduate student research, Xander performed research experimentation through the use of several NGS tools/sets (including microarray RNA-, ChIP-, ATAC-, and DNA-Sequencing data sets) as well as a collection of bioinformatic-related methodologies.  Xander has developed and enhanced machine and deep learning algorithms, conducted comprehensive quality control checks on novel equipment, and performed laboratory maintenance procedures on software development platforms, such as GitHub. 

Xander started his career as a biochemist where he developed methods to study drug-protein interactions, their effects, and their pharmacokinetic profiles. His experience also includes researching and assessing biological samples to support risk assessment and the evaluation of current and emerging techniques, after the retrieval, storage, and preparation of several chemical agents.

Xander recently obtained a Ph.D. in bioinformatics from Indiana University Indianapolis’s Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering where he is a faculty advisor and actively involved in teaching the fundamentals of biomedical informatics.