Dr. Stephen Burgess serves as Chief Scientific Officer and manages Business Development activities at Avanti Polar Lipids, the leading supplier of high quality lipids for drug discovery and commercial drug product manufacturing. He has been associated with Avanti for over 40 years, starting as a part-time laboratory technician. After receiving his doctorate in Biochemistry and Biophysics from The University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill in 1990, Dr. Burgess returned to Avanti as Director of Research & Development.

Over the past 30 years, he has worked with numerous researchers to develop novel lipids and lipid formulations to address specific experimental challenges and improve drug delivery. He has played a key role in a diverse list of projects, including drug delivery development, gene therapy, wound healing, and vaccine development. His background in lipid synthesis, lipid biophysical properties, and membrane dynamics has been instrumental in resolving problems associated with these projects.

Dr. Burgess is an author of numerous scientific publications, as well as an inventor on multiple patents.