The Apex Team

We are a team of scientists working on real bugs in the Silicon Valley, where most people work on computer bugs. We have diverse expertise in insect behavior, insect physiology, chemical ecology, microbiology, and molecular biology. With 40% (2 out of 5) female employees, sharing 4 different cultural backgrounds, exploring the field of entomology together, the Apex team is an incredibly diverse and strong research team.

Dangsheng Liang, PhD
President and Founder
​[email protected]

​Dangsheng Liang earned his MS and PhD degrees in entomology at Rutgers University before completing postdoctoral work at North Carolina State University. He has devoted his entire professional career to research and product development of bait products for urban pests.  He has published a number scientific papers in refereed journals and delivered professional presentations on insect behavior, physiology, and management.  Prior to starting Apex Bait Technologies, Inc., he worked as an entomologist and bait formulator at a leading insect bait manufacturing company.

Abhinav Maurya, PhD
Chief Technology Officer
[email protected]

Abhinav started his scientific journey in the field of Agricultural Sciences by earning his BS degree from Banaras Hindu University in India. Abhinav moved to the USA for higher education and earned his MS in Biology from the University of Northern Colorado, and Ph.D. in Plant Biology from the University of Louisville. Abhinav is an expert in plant-insect interactions with an emphasis on chemical ecology and insect behavior. Abhinav has wealth of professional knowledge in developing novel pest control products. At Apex Bait, Abhinav will oversee multiple NIH, DOD and USDA funded research projects and direct the technology development and marketing as the company expands to new markets across the globe.

Naomi Manu, PhD 
Research Scientist
naomi@apexbait.com

​Naomi Manu earned her BSC and MS in Agricultural Science and Entomology and Plant Protectionrespectively from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. She then pursued her PhD inEntomology at the Department of Entomology in KansasState University working on developingIntegrated pest management program to control ham/mold mites in food facilities.Naomi has worked with the USAID-Feed the futureInnovation Labsfor her masters and been recognizedby the US-Embassy of Ghanaas one ofthe femalescientistswho has contributed immensely toherhome country for her research in finding solutions to post-harvest losses by insects. She has publishednumerous peer-reviewed papers on pest management,insect monitoring and population dynamics,insect protection, insect behavior and innovation ways to control post-harvest losses.

Saravan Kumar, PhD
Research Scientist
[email protected]

​​Saravan Kumar Parepely is a chemical ecologist with a MS in
biochemistry from Andhra University in India and a Ph.D. in
biochemistry (Program: Insect Chemical Ecology, Semiochemicals,
Insect-Plant Interaction, Gut Enzymes, and Microbes) from ICAR (Indian
Institute of Horticultural Research), Jain University, Bengaluru,
India. Saravan is an expert in performing insect electrophysiological
techniques such as EAG and GC-EAD/GC-MS. He has worked on several
pests, such as fruit flies, moths, beetles, sucking pests, etc., and
published good scientific articles related to them. He is currently
working on the identification of attractants and bioassay testing of
VOCs for use in pest management applications.

Team Pictures