FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Canyon Labs, a trusted full-service partner for medical device testing, validation, and regulatory consulting, today announced a strategic evolution of its leadership structure with the introduction of its Science First Leadership Model. The company-wide initiative is designed to unify scientific expertise across Canyon’s expanding national laboratory network while reinforcing its commitment to delivering consistent technical excellence, collaborative problem-solving, and an exceptional client experience.
As Canyon Labs continues its national growth, the company is intentionally organizing around scientific disciplines rather than individual laboratory locations. This approach places scientific leadership, technical expertise, and innovation at the center of every client engagement, allowing clients to benefit from the collective knowledge of Canyon’s scientists regardless of where testing is performed.
“For too long, much of our industry has organized itself around laboratories instead of science,” said Sarah Ptach, President & CEO of Canyon Labs. “Clients don’t choose a laboratory because of its ZIP code. They choose the expertise of the scientists behind the work. As Canyon continues to grow nationally, we are intentionally building one scientific organization where knowledge is shared, best practices are standardized, and our clients benefit from the collective expertise of our entire company—not just a single location. Scientific excellence isn’t tied to a building. It’s built by people.”
As part of the initiative, Canyon Labs has appointed four scientific leaders to oversee its core technical disciplines:
- Wendy Mach has been promoted to Vice President, Packaging & Consulting
- Tom McElroy has been promoted to Senior Director, Microbiology
- Chris Dietz has been promoted to Vice President, Analytical Chemistry
- Donna Ventura has been promoted to Vice President, Biocompatibility & Toxicology
Each leader will guide scientific strategy, technical excellence, innovation, talent development, and operational consistency across every Canyon laboratory within their respective discipline, ensuring clients receive the same high standard of scientific expertise throughout the organization.
“Canyon has never viewed growth as simply adding laboratories,” said David Kudla, Chief Operating Officer of Canyon Labs. “Our focus is building an organization where every investment strengthens our scientific capabilities. This leadership model creates clear technical ownership across the enterprise while enabling our teams to collaborate as one organization. It allows us to scale without sacrificing quality, consistency, or scientific rigor.”
Advancing Scientific Excellence Across Every Discipline
Packaging & Consulting
Leading Canyon’s Packaging & Consulting practice, Wendy Mach brings more than 30 years of experience in sterilization, packaging validation, microbiology, and quality assurance. A recognized industry thought leader and active contributor to global standards and regulatory initiatives, Wendy has spent her career helping manufacturers solve complex technical and regulatory challenges while advancing innovation and best practices across the medical device industry.
Under her leadership, Canyon’s Packaging & Consulting teams help manufacturers make informed decisions throughout the product lifecycle—from early development and validation planning through commercialization.
“In medical device development, packaging is not just a container—it is part of the product’s safety and performance profile,” said Mach. “Our Packaging team helps clients evaluate package integrity, material compatibility, sterility assurance considerations, labeling requirements, distribution durability, and usability so devices can move through development and commercialization with greater confidence. By identifying packaging risks early and supporting technically sound solutions, we help medical device companies protect product quality, meet regulatory expectations, and ultimately support safer outcomes for patients and end users.”
In addition to packaging, Canyon’s consulting practice provides science-based regulatory and technical guidance that helps manufacturers define testing strategies, evaluate risk, strengthen submissions, and confidently navigate increasingly complex regulatory expectations.
“In medical device development, consulting plays a critical role in helping companies navigate the technical, regulatory, and strategic decisions that shape a product’s path to market,” Mach added. “Our Consulting team helps clients define testing strategies, interpret regulatory expectations, evaluate risk, support claims and documentation, and solve complex development challenges with practical, science-based guidance. By connecting technical expertise with real-world regulatory and commercialization needs, we help medical device companies reduce uncertainty, strengthen submissions, and move forward with greater confidence in the safety, performance, and readiness of their products.”
Microbiology
With more than 25 years of experience in medical device and pharmaceutical microbiology, Tom McElroy will lead Canyon’s Microbiology practice. Throughout his career, he has helped manufacturers navigate complex microbiological testing, method development, validation, and quality assurance requirements through scientifically sound, compliant solutions. His expertise supports clients at every stage of the product lifecycle, from development and validation through regulatory submission and commercialization.
Analytical Chemistry
As Vice President of Analytical Chemistry, Chris Dietz will oversee Canyon’s analytical chemistry capabilities, supporting the continued growth of the company’s chemical characterization, materials analysis, and regulatory testing services. Working alongside the broader scientific leadership team, he will help ensure consistent methodologies, technical excellence, and scientific innovation across Canyon’s laboratory network.
Biocompatibility & Toxicology
Donna Ventura brings more than 40 years of experience supporting the medical device and pharmaceutical industries in biological safety and biocompatibility. Throughout her career, she has remained committed to delivering scientifically rigorous solutions that meet customer needs while helping manufacturers navigate regulatory requirements and accelerate the path to market for innovative products. An active contributor to multiple ISO standards committees, Donna continues to advance strategies that strengthen customer outcomes, foster long-term partnerships, and support the development of life-changing medical devices and therapies.
Building One Scientific Organization
The Science First Leadership Model reflects Canyon Labs’ long-term vision of building one integrated scientific organization where expertise moves freely across laboratories, innovation is shared across disciplines, and every client engagement benefits from the collective knowledge of the company’s scientific leaders.
“Our vision has always been bigger than building laboratories,” Ptach said. “We’re building a scientific organization where expertise moves freely, innovation is shared across disciplines, and our clients have access to the very best thinking our company has to offer. We believe the future of laboratory services isn’t defined by geography. It’s defined by scientific excellence.”
The Science First Leadership Model represents another milestone in Canyon Labs’ long-term strategy to build one of the nation’s premier independent scientific organizations serving the medical device and pharmaceutical industries.
About Canyon Labs
Canyon Labs is a full-service provider of medical device testing, validation, and regulatory consulting services specializing in microbiology, biocompatibility, analytical chemistry, packaging validation, sterilization validation, and regulatory support. By combining scientific expertise with a client-first approach, Canyon Labs helps medical device manufacturers navigate complex regulatory requirements while delivering accurate, reliable results with industry-leading responsiveness.
View all Laboratory Testing and Consulting offered by Canyon Labs.