Qivana is pleased to announce the appointment of Donald K. Layman Ph.D., as its chief scientific officer. Dr. Layman has served as a member of the Qivana Scientific Advisory Board for the past three years, providing expert opinions and scientific consulting to the company for product development. Dr. Layman has been working closely with Qivana to formulate, introduce and support METABOLIQ, Qivana’s revolutionary weight management system, engineered to improve body composition by correcting metabolism.

Dr. Layman has a distinguished background of academic and industry appointments, an extensive publication record, and has received numerous prestigious awards and honors. He is recognized world-wide for his breakthrough research; his discoveries have revolutionized the understanding of human metabolism and created entirely new approaches to weight management, blood sugar control, fat metabolism and athletic recovery.

"Dr. Layman’s impressive scientific record and experience are extremely valuable to our company, and we are pleased to be working even more closely with him," said Derek Hall, Qivana CEO. "With his expertise we will continue our remarkable track record of product leadership, and innovation of tomorrow's breakthrough discoveries."

In his new position, Dr. Layman will lead the science innovation and evaluation of projects and programs across all Qivana product lines. Given that the company’s products and systems are science based, he will also participate in setting Qivana’s overall strategy.

"I am very excited to expand our relationship with Dr. Layman," said Justin Banner, chief strategy officer, Qivana. "We will continue to re-invent the traditional R&D model through joint ventures and strategic partnerships. Dr. Layman’s experience will be invaluable in ensuring that all new products will be firmly based in research, safety and efficacy."

"I am honored and excited to officially join the Qivana team," said Dr. Layman. "By strengthening our scientific base, we will maintain Qivana’s leadership position in deployment of innovative and breakthrough nutrition products that will improve human health for many years to come."

Dr. Donald Layman is Professor Emeritus of Nutrition in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is recognized for his research on amino acid metabolism, nutritional requirements during exercise and his work with high protein weight loss diets. Dr. Layman has over 90 peer-reviewed publications. His research was recognized with the BioServ Research Award by the American Society for Nutritional Sciences in 1986, the Shannon Award from the National Institutes of Health in 1992, and the Nutrition and Metabolism Society National Leadership Award in 2009. He has also received numerous awards and recognitions for his nutrition teaching at the University of Illinois. Dr. Layman served as associate editor of The Journal of Nutrition from 1989 through 1993, is currently associate editor of Nutrition and Metabolism, and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. Dr. Layman earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in chemistry at Illinois State University and his doctorate in human nutrition and biochemistry at the University of Minnesota.