A&M Health Science Center Names New IBT Director

Dr. Richard H. Finnell has been named as director of the Institute of Biosciences and Technology, a component of the Texas A&M University System Health Science Center. This appointment, announced by A&M System Health Science Center Interim President Dr. James S. Cole, is effective June 1.

In his new capacity as director of the Institute of Biosciences and Technology, Dr. Finnell will:

• Direct and administer IBT and oversee its mission, direction and future research themes.
• Provide leadership in biosciences and biotechnologies for developing synergies in research, graduate education and service among institutions within the Texas A&M University System and the Texas Medical Center that benefit medicine, engineering, agriculture and veterinary medicine.
• Establish productive relationships with industry, facilitate commercialization of scientific discoveries, encourage transfer of technologies to the marketplace, and foster the development of life sciences and biotechnology in Texas.
• Participate in and strongly encourage graduate education, service activities, and interdisciplinary and interinstitutional research.

"As IBT celebrates its ninth year of operation, we are fortunate to have a scientific leader of Dr. Finnell's caliber to continue building on the solid foundation already established," said Dr. Cole. "He will be an important addition to the excellent team of scientists already in place at IBT, and his appointment ensures that IBT's research program will prosper and expand."

Dr. Finnell comes to his new position at IBT from a distinguished career researching environmentally induced birth defects. A California native, Dr. Finnell is currently director of the Center for Human Molecular Genetics and professor of cell biology and anatomy at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. From 1991 through 1998, he was based in College Station, holding various positions within Texas A&M University. These included professor and assistant head, Department of Veterinary Anatomy and Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine; acting associate dean for research at the College of Veterinary Medicine; professor, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Rural Public Health; professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas A&M University System in Dallas.

Dr. Finnell, who holds several National Institutes of Health grants, received the Pfizer Animal Health Award for Research Excellence in 1995 and the Texas A&M University Distinguished Achievement Award in Research in 1997. He serves as chairman of the Scientific Advisory Commission overseeing functions of the Texas Birth Defects Monitoring Division, is a collaborating investigator participating in the National Birth Defects Centers of Excellence Program, and has written 20 textbook chapters and more than 90 journal articles.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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