Dr. Robert E. Esch is executive vice president of Greer and a respected expert and thought leader in the field of allergy and immunology. He currently leads Greer’s research programs and clinical trials on sublingual-oral immunotherapy, an alternative to traditional allergy injections.

Dr. Esch has more than 20 years experience with Greer in a variety of research, operations and management positions. Dr. Esch is a fellow of the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) and serves on numerous committees, including the AAAAI Allergen Standardization and the Immunotherapy and Allergy Diagnostics Committees. He also is a member of the Allergen Products Manufacturers’ Association and the American Society of Microbiology, and his work has been printed in more than 40 publications. 

Dr. Esch earned his Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received M.S. and B.S. degrees in bacteriology and public health from Washington State University.

Dr. Thomas Grier currently serves as senior research scientist and director of allergen product development for Greer. Dr. Grier’s responsibilities include the management of research and development projects and the development of a customer technical support group.

Dr. Grier’s primary focus areas are development and standardization of new products, improving the consistency and potency of allergen extract compositions and research on the specific proteins responsible for allergic reactions. 

Prior to working at Greer, Dr. Grier served as a research investigator in infectious disease and allergy diagnostics at Abbott Laboratories. His work has been published in a number of peer-reviewed publications, including the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Allergy and Asthma Proceedings and Clinical Reviews in Allergy and Immunology.

Dr. Grier received both a Ph.D. and an M.S. degree in chemistry from the biochemistry division at Ohio State University and completed a postdoctoral study in bioorganic chemistry at Cornell University. Additionally, he holds a degree in biology with a concentration in biochemistry from the State University of New York.

Dr. Fabien Lü currently serves as a senior research scientist on Greer’s research and development team, specializing in cellular immunity in mucosal associated lymphoid tissues. He is the key investigator in expanding Greer’s research programs and in developing second-generation allergy immunotherapy vaccines for animals and sublingual immunotherapy in human clinical trials.

Prior to joining the Greer team, Dr. Lü was a research immunologist in the virology and immunology unit of the California National Primate Research Center at the University of California in Davis. His research includes mucosal immunity against pathogenic virus infections and vaccine development with a focus on allergic and mucosally-transmitted diseases such as AIDS. In 1993 he developed a rapid HIV test using human saliva.

Dr. Lü’s research has been published in more than 38 peer-reviewed publications, including The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Journal of Immunology, Clinical Immunology and AIDS.  He has written a chapter on sample collection, processing and analysis in rhesus macaques for a mucosal immunology textbook, and his HIV research has earned numerous honors.

Dr. Lü completed his medical residency at Jilin Medical University in China and completed his Ph.D. in immunology and virology at the Pasteur Institute in Paris in 1994. He also obtained a Master’s degree in immunology and infectious diseases from the Pasteur Institute and University of Paris in 1989.

Dr. Kenneth Lee oversees the development of Greer's allergy testing and serves as the director of the veterinary reference service laboratory. Greer's clients include 98 percent of veterinary dermatologists and veterinary schools in the United States.  

Dr. Lee has more than 20 years experience in research and development, quality assurance and quality control. Prior to joining Greer, Dr. Lee served as principal scientist at Heska Corporation and was a professor at Arizona State University and Harvard Medical School.  Dr. Lee’s work has been published in many veterinary publications, including Veterinary Immunology Immunopathology, The American Journal of Veterinary Research and The Journal of Medical and Veterinary Mycology.

Dr. Lee completed his Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from Montana State University and received his M.S. degree in biology from Central Washington State University. He also holds a B.A. degree in biology and chemistry from Central Washington State University.

Bob Jacobson serves as an interface between R&D, all departments of Greer and customers to provide technical support.  Bob responds to more than 2,000 questions a year from customers throughout the United States and other countries to assist them with a variety of topics relating to allergy immunotherapy.  Bob is also the field scientist who will provide “weed walks” at Greer and elsewhere for our customers to aid in the recognition of allergenic plants.

Bob’s experience in the allergy community has taken him into the academic arena of the East Carolina University School of Medicine where several studies, mostly on insect venoms, were published.  He also consulted at the Carlos Haya Hospital in Malaga, Spain.  Prior to Greer, Bob worked at Vespa Laboratories, Inc.