Prioritizing Research is Prioritizing Health

Our Mission

WPLab is a not-for-profit company that conducts research and education related to immune system dysfunction in high-income countries. A current focus is the interaction between the immune system and acetaminophen (paracetamol) early in life, and how that interaction affects brain development. We have ongoing experiments using laboratory animals to try and understand the underlying causes of autism. At the same time, we work with social media and other venues to educate caregivers about what is known regarding the impact of acetaminophen (paracetamol) on the developing brain.

Who We Are

Katten Stratten

CEO

Kate Stratten, CEO of WPLab, brings over 20 years of leadership and technical experience working in the non-profit sector, managing multimillion-dollar, international public health projects.

For the past 17 years, Stratten held several leadership positions at IntraHealth International, including senior program manager, regional director, vice president of programs and most recently, CEO. She excels in leading global teams and fostering a culture of collaboration and equality.

Prior to joining IntraHealth, Stratten worked for Johns Hopkins Center for Communications Programs, where she led initiatives such as the establishment of the AIDS Resource Center in Ethiopia, the national AIDS Hotline in South Africa and served as technical advisor for a large HIV/AIDS prevention program in Namibia. She holds a bachelor's degree and honors in social work from the University of Cape Town.

William Parker

Ph.D.

Dr. Parker is Chief Science Office (CSO) at WPLab, and Visiting Scholar at UNC, Chapel Hill. He retired from Duke University after more than 27 years of research there. Best known for discovering the function of the human appendix, Dr. Parker studied biology and chemistry as an undergraduate student and went on to earn his Ph.D. in chemistry in 1992. He has been conducting scientific research since the 1980s and has published more than 140 peer-reviewed articles. His focus for the past two decades has been on factors that adversely affect immune function in high-income countries. These factors lay at the foundation of many health problems today, including allergic, autoimmune and neuropsychiatric conditions.

+View Dr.Parker's Biography

Zacharoula Konsoula

Ph.D., M.Sc.

Dr. Konsoula holds a Ph.D. in pharmacology / toxicology and has over 15 years of experience in research and development of small molecules and biologics in the pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Konsoula is a regulatory affairs expert, is experienced in various types of toxicology and safety pharmacology studies, and has a broad understanding of pharmacology and pharmacokinetics, drug metabolism and transport. Dr. Konsoula has co-authored seminal papers with WPLab Inc. describing the (a) effects of acetaminophen on laboratory animals (publishing in PLos One) and (b) a conclusive summary of evidence that acetaminophen exposure early in life causes neurodevelopmental problems in susceptible babies and children (published in Minerva Pediatrics).

Dr. Jones holds a M.A. in psychology/neuroscience and a PhD in genetics. Dr. Jones’s first work looking at the effects of early life exposure to toxins on the brain was published more than a quarter century ago, in 1996 (Brain Research, 97 (2), 207-215). He has subsequently become an accomplished drug discovery and clinical development leader with extensive strategic & operational leadership experience in R&D and product development, strategy, design of clinical trials, and product registration from a variety of pharmaceutical and academic settings. Dr. Jones has worked with Dr. Parker for more than a decade on the underlying causes of autism, co-authoring four manuscripts with him during that period, including recent work published in PloS One and in Minerva Pediatrics.