Mark Fortner

Mark Fortner is the Founder and CEO of Aspen Biosciences, a company he established in July 2009.1 With a career spanning over three decades in the life sciences and technology sectors, Fortner has extensive experience in developing software solutions for various aspects of drug discovery and development.12

Career Highlights

Education and Early Career: Mark Fortner holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Texas A&M University, which he attended from 1983 to 1988.2 His professional journey began in 1994 as a Marketing Technologist at Landmark Graphics.2

Industry Experience: Throughout his career, Fortner has held several key positions in prominent organizations:

• Senior Software Engineer at Genometrix (1999-2001)
• Manager of Bioinformatics Software Development at Lexicon Genetics (2001-2005)
• Senior Bioinformatics Software Engineer at the University of Houston (2005-2006)
• Senior Advisor at Pfizer (2006)
• Senior Software Engineer at L-3 Communications and Takeda Pharmaceuticals (2007-2009)12

Entrepreneurial Ventures: In addition to founding Aspen Biosciences, Fortner also launched an early-stage startup called QuikIntro, which he ran from November 2014 to June 2017.1

Aspen Biosciences

As the CEO of Aspen Biosciences, Fortner leads a company that provides customized software solutions for the life sciences industry.2 Under his leadership, the company has developed innovative applications such as:

• A polypharmacy drug development application called Cocktail
• A drug pipeline management application2

Achievements and Skills

Fortner is recognized as a lean entrepreneur and innovator with a passion for solving technical problems.1 His expertise spans various areas, including:

• Bioinformatics software development
• Drug target identification and validation
• Implementation of screening and drug safety projects
• Compound management systems12

He has also received awards for his contributions to the field, including the Network of BioThings Idea Award from The Scripps Research Institute in July 2014 and the Cytoscape Challenge Award for the most valuable feature to add to Cytoscape in December 2014.1

Mark Fortner's LinkedIn profile can be found under the username "markfortner".1