Dr. Richard Selden
Idealist Entrepreneur’s BlogDr. Richard Selden is the Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of ANDE. The leading provider of Rapid DNA Identification products and services, ANDE serves a clientele spanning the law enforcement, military, and homeland security communities of the United States and its allies. Since founding ANDE in 2004, Dr. Richard Selden has steadily worked to position the Company as a trusted provider to enable Rapid DNA Identification to be implemented broadly to enhance societal safety.
Dr. Selden received his BA degree from Harvard College, MA and PhD degrees in Genetics from the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and MD from Harvard Medical School.
He trained as a pediatrician at the Children’s Service of the Massachusetts General Hospital.


Over the years Dr. Richard Selden has held numerous academic appointments. As an undergraduate and graduate student, he served as a teaching fellow, conference leader, and lecturer on biochemistry, biology, and cell biology at Harvard College, Northeastern University, and Roxbury Community College. For three years, he was appointed an Instructor in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Additionally, Dr. Selden has lent his expertise to numerous industry committees. He was part of the Committee on Research Review for the American Diabetes Association for three years and also served on the Curriculum Committee for the Harvard-M.I.T. Department of Health Sciences and Technology. He has also served on Massachusetts Conservation and Community Preservation Commissions.
Dr. Richard Selden has an extensive background in professional leadership, business development, and team building. He has built successful commercial relationships with a broad range of institutions, from Fortune 50 companies to small start-ups. Prior to ANDE, he spent over fifteen years as a leader in biotechnology and has been publicly recognized for his significant contributions to the industry.
Work With ANDE
Now Dr. Richard Selden focuses on bringing revolutionary DNA testing systems to the public and private sectors via ANDE. He has presented ANDE’s Rapid DNA technology, ANDE product line, and product applications at a wide range of meetings within the identity community, including the Global Identity Summit, Cambridge Healthtech Institute, and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.
With an entrepreneurial mindset, combined with a storied history in the discovery, development, manufacturing, and marketing of products based on DNA technology, Dr. Selden has built ANDE into the premier provider of Rapid DNA Identification products and services. He has worked closely with the company’s exemplary employee base to foster partnerships with a wide range of governmental agencies and to maximize the impact of the ANDE System on societal safety.
Dr. Selden is an author on 35 scientific publications and an inventor on 40 US patents. His work has been published in Forensic Science International: Genetics, PLOS ONE, Investigative Genetics, The New England Journal of Medicine, Science, Nature, and more. Many of his patents, such as the recent “Methods for rapid multiplexed amplification of target nucleic acids,” “Integrated systems for the multiplexed amplification and detection of six and greater dye labeled fragments,” and “Nucleic acid purification” represent major advances in critical aspects of Rapid DNA technology. His research interests include forensic human identification, point-of-care DNA-based clinical diagnostics, microfluidics, and highly multiplexed amplification and sequencing.
Dr. Richard Selden’s ongoing dedication to enhancing societal safety, work to meet the needs and requirements of federal, state, and local agencies, and technical and policy experience have uniquely equipped him to lead revolutionary practices in Rapid DNA Identification.
The video below details just a fraction of what Dr. Richard Selden and ANDE are able to accomplish with RapidDNA Identification.