Dr. Anthony L. Hessel
Chief Executive Officer
Accelerated Muscle Biotechnologies

Dr. Hessel, PhD is career research scientist with a unique transdisciplinary research focus and training that covers exercise science, muscle disease, wearable assistive biotechnologies, cardiac/skeletal muscle physiology, protein biophysics, and small-angle X-ray diffraction science.

I’m a muscle scientist, I’m a muscle physiologist. I specifically study how muscles can modify their performance to meet the environmental demands. And I’ve been doing this for 15 years. I used to live in the States, then I moved to Germany, where I still am. I do a lot of regular experiments, that a lot of physiologists do.

I also do something a little more specialized and niche called small angle X-ray diffraction. This work is done at synchrotrons, which are particle accelerators. It’s something that I want more people in this field to do, I think it’s really helpful. So I co-founded a company called Accelerated Muscle Biotechnologies, where I am now the CEO, to do exactly that… to make this research more accessible.

Dr. Khoi D. Nguyen
Chief Technology Officer
Accelerated Muscle Biotechnologies

Dr. Nguyen, PhD is in charge of data analysis and molecular modeling of skeletal and cardiac muscles. He is a subject matter expert in muscle science and imaging technologies and originally trained as a mechanical engineer.

I started as a mechanical engineer for my PhD and I shifted to MRI medical imaging for my postdoc. I’m now working with Anthony as an engineer, the primary signal processing and image processing expert on the team. So my role is basically improving the technology so that it’s more accessible to a larger group of people that do not necessarily have to be experts in this technique to get exploratory data sets for their research needs.

Anthony and Khoi share a vision for Accelerated Muscle Biotechnologies (AMB) that centers on expanding access to advanced muscle research tools. Khoi emphasizes his desire to bridge the gap between scientific discovery and real-world impact, turning niche technologies—like X-ray–based muscle analysis—into methods widely used for diagnosing and treating muscle diseases. Anthony builds on this idea, describing AMB as a multidisciplinary organization that integrates X-ray diffraction with other muscle research techniques. He envisions a future where such specialized tools are centralized and accessible, much like how researchers outsource proteomics today. Together, they see AMB as a way to democratize complex technologies, empowering more scientists to explore, understand, and ultimately improve human muscle health.

At Accelerated Muscle Biotechnologies (AMB), the team fosters a culture that keeps scientific curiosity at the center of their work. Rather than separating industry and academic research, AMB encourages its scientists to pursue their own independent projects, collaborate externally, and even apply for traditional research funding like NIH grants. This approach allows employees to remain active contributors to the broader scientific community through publishing and conferences, while still advancing company goals.  This model gives researchers the flexibility to support both their professional and personal scientific interests—whether directly related to AMB’s focus or not. Ultimately, both founders emphasize that AMB is built on the principle of being “scientists first,” creating an environment where meaningful, curiosity-driven research can thrive alongside commercial work.

The partnership between Accelerated Muscle Biotechnologies (AMB) and Aurora Scientific was born out of shared values around scientific rigor and standardization. Chris Rand, from Aurora Scientific, has known Anthony Hessel for years and admired his passion for doing high-quality, reproducible science—an approach that aligns closely with Aurora’s mission to promote standardized, reliable methodologies through well-designed instrumentation.

When Anthony and Khoi approached Aurora in late 2024, the two teams quickly recognized their complementary strengths. AMB brought creative ideas for improving experimental techniques and expanding access to consistent muscle research methods, while Aurora had the expertise and tools to make those ideas tangible. Anthony emphasized that AMB isn’t a manufacturing company but thrives on collaboration—sharing ideas freely with partners like Aurora to develop innovative solutions that can advance and unify the field.

The partnership has since grown into a productive collaboration, focused on building tools and standards that empower researchers to achieve higher-quality, more reproducible results across laboratories worldwide.

The partnership is focused on advancing the tools and methods used in muscle mechanics and X-ray diffraction (XRD) research. Together, the teams aim to develop a new generation of equipment that leverages modern software and technology to make experiments faster, more consistent, and more reproducible—without compromising scientific rigor.

Beyond improving precision, the collaboration seeks to address common barriers in the field, such as high costs, low throughput, and steep learning curves. By combining AMB’s research expertise with Aurora’s broad experience and direct feedback from hundreds of laboratories, they’re working to simplify complex techniques and make high-quality experimentation more accessible across the scientific community.

A key goal is to make muscle XRD technology more accessible—turning it from something only specialized labs can perform into a process that any well-equipped muscle research lab can adopt through commercially available, user-friendly solutions. While these innovations won’t eliminate the need for skilled scientists, they promise to reduce variability, minimize experimental error, and solve long-standing technical frustrations that researchers have faced for decades.

Ultimately, the AMB–Aurora partnership is about driving practical innovation—translating creative problem-solving and technological advances into tools that elevate the entire muscle research field.

Stay tuned and subscribe to Aurora Scientific’s Newsletter to find out!