Applied DNA Sciences Appoints Former NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly to Strategic Advisory Board

STONY BROOK, NY--(Marketwired - January 24, 2017) - Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (Applied DNA, "the Company") (NASDAQ: APDN), a provider of DNA-based supply-chain, anti-counterfeiting and anti-theft technology, product genotyping and product authentication solutions, appointed Ray Kelly to its Strategic Advisory Board (SAB), effective January 2017.

Mr. Kelly, currently Vice Chairman of K2Intelligence, provides valuable insight into the design and development of tailored enterprise risk solutions and investigates internal and external risks affecting the safety of client assets and the reputation and stability of their key stakeholders. He was the longest-serving Commissioner of the New York City Police Department in its history and the first person to hold the post for two non-consecutive tenures. As a member of Applied DNA's SAB, Mr. Kelly will help advance the company's expansion in law enforcement and security sectors and solution offerings, working along with other distinguished industry experts.

Dr. James Hayward, president and CEO of Applied DNA, said, "Ray Kelly has spent his professional career implementing strategies to enhance security at the local and national levels. He has demonstrated a keen sense of urgency, which we share, regarding the need to protect and serve the community and our nation's critical assets. His deep experience in security and law enforcement will directly benefit our company's efforts in these areas and we are honored to have him join our SAB."

Mr. Kelly said, "As the most recent addition to Applied DNA's Strategic Advisory Board, I look forward to contributing to the company's business priorities during a time of heightened security threats both nationally and internationally."

Applied DNA formed its Strategic Advisory Board in February 2016 to advance the company's penetration of key market verticals with the assistance of globally recognized experts in their fields. Bob Catell, a member of Applied DNA's Board of Directors and former chairman and CEO of KeySpan and National Grid's U.S. Operations, chairs the SAB. Mr. Kelly joins Dr. Mehmood Khan, PepsiCo's Vice Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer, Global Research and Development, and Gunther Faber, former Vice President, Sub-Saharan Africa for GlaxoSmithKline, on the SAB.

At K2Intelligence, Mr. Kelly sets strategy to combat threats faced by nations around the world, in both the public and private sectors. He has given top-level guidance on issues such as infrastructure safety, regulatory compliance, and government enforcement response.

Mr. Kelly formerly worked at Cushman & Wakefield, as president of the firm's Risk Management Services group. He also served as president of Investigative Group International and as chief of security at Bear Stearns.

Mr. Kelly's almost 50-year career in public service includes serving as commissioner of the U.S. Customs Service and as Undersecretary of Enforcement at the U.S. Treasury Department. He served as a vice president of Interpol and directed the International Police Force in Haiti, where he was awarded the exceptionally meritorious service commendation from the President of the United States. Mr. Kelly is also a retired United States Marine Corps Reserves Colonel with 30 years of service in the United States Marine Corps Reserves, including serving a combat tour in Vietnam. He received 14 citations of merit for outstanding police work during his tenure at the New York Police Department and was awarded France's highest decoration, the Legion d'Honneur. Under Mr. Kelly's leadership, the New York Police Department gained a reputation as the premier domestic public-safety agency in the United States. He established the first Counterterrorism Bureau of any municipal police department in the country and built the Department's Intelligence Bureau, creating a global intelligence program with detectives stationed in cities abroad. He is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and an ABC News consultant. He is the author of the best-selling book Vigilance: My Life Serving America and Protecting Its Empire City.

Mr. Kelly received his J.D. from St. John's University School of Law, his L.L.M. from New York University Graduate School of Law, his M.P.A. from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and his B.B.A. from Manhattan College. He is an attorney and a member of the New York State Bar. He has also been awarded honorary degrees from the Catholic University of America, Manhattan College, St. John's University, the State University of New York, the College of St. Rose, Iona College, Marist College, New York University, Pace University, Quinnipiac University and St. Thomas Aquinas College.

About Applied DNA Sciences

Applied DNA Sciences makes life real and safe by providing biotechnology-driven solutions to help protect products, brands, entire supply chains, and intellectual property of companies, governments and consumers from theft, counterfeiting, fraud and diversion. Patented botanical DNA solutions can be used to identify, tag, track, and trace products, to help assure authenticity, traceability and quality of products. SigNature DNA is at the heart of a family of uncopyable, security and authentication solutions such as SigNature® T and fiberTyping®, targeted toward textiles and apparel, DNAnet®, for anti-theft and loss prevention, and digitalDNA®, providing powerful track and trace. All provide a forensic chain of evidence, and can be used to prosecute perpetrators.

Go to adnas.com for more information, events and to learn more about how Applied DNA Sciences makes life real and safe. Our common stock is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol APDN, and our warrants are listed under the symbol APDNW.

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements made by APDN in this press release may be "forward-looking" in nature within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements describe APDN's future plans, projections, strategies and expectations, and are based on assumptions and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of APDN. Actual results could differ materially from those projected due to our short operating history, limited financial resources, limited market acceptance, market competition and various other factors detailed from time to time in APDN's SEC reports and filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on December 6, 2016, which is available at www.sec.gov. APDN undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date hereof to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, unless otherwise required by law.