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NCRR Announces New Advisory Council Members

NCRR has selected four new members to serve on its National Advisory Research Resources Council. Council members advise NCRR on its policies and programs, and review grant applications. The new council members, listed below, are leaders in their fields and will serve four-year terms.

Mark O. Lively is a professor of biochemistry at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Since 1983, he has directed the protein and DNA chemistry laboratories in the Biomolecular Resource Facility of the university’s Comprehensive Cancer Center, providing support and expertise to many NIH-funded research projects. Lively is the 2009–2010 president of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology and is past president of the Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities. An active peer reviewer of NCRR grant programs, he is currently analyzing the structure of proteins involved in iron transport and regulation of high blood pressure. He also has developed a test to determine if an individual has gastroesophageal reflux or acid reflux disease.

Joel R. Stiles is the director of the National Resource for Biomedical Supercomputing (NRBSC) at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center. He is an associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and the Lane Center for Computational Biology at Carnegie Mellon University, and he holds faculty appointments in the Departments of Neuroscience and Computational Biology at the University of Pittsburgh. His research focuses on the microphysiology of cells and synapses — tiny gaps between nerve endings — and how these microscopic building blocks act in the body and contribute to neuromuscular disease. Stiles is a co-developer of MCell, a Monte Carlo simulator of cellular microphysiology, and the principal architect of DReAMM (Design, Render, and Animate MCell Models). He directs the Computational Modules in Science Teaching program and other educational outreach activities at NRBSC.

David S. Weir directs the Office of Economic Innovation and Partnerships at the University of Delaware. Over a 40-year career, he has held leadership positions in both private and academic sectors. Weir lectured at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland before joining the DuPont Co. in Wilmington, Del. As vice president for global research and development in the agriculture segment, he played a key role in developing DuPont's worldwide capability in agriculture, plant science and biotechnology. Before retiring, he participated in the planning initiative to shift DuPont’s focus from polymers and fibers to life sciences. After retiring, Weir became director of Grupo Vicunha in Brazil, and in 1998, he became founding director of the Delaware Biotechnology Institute. He accepted his current position in 2008 as part of a new initiative to increase recognition of the University of Delaware as a center of invention, innovation and entrepreneurship and a contributor to economic development in the state and region.

M. Christine Zink is a professor and director of the Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Zink is a veterinary pathologist with expertise in the causes of infectious diseases. She developed the premier animal model of HIV-associated neurological disease and used it to show that the antibiotic minocycline prevents HIV replication and HIV-associated neurological disease. These studies helped initiate ongoing clinical trials in the United States and Africa. Zink leads training programs in veterinary pathology and laboratory animal medicine and is director of admissions for the Cellular and Molecular Medicine Graduate Program at Hopkins. She is on the board of directors for the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges and was named 2009’s Outstanding Woman Veterinarian of the Year by the Association of Women Veterinarians Foundation.

For a complete list of current council members, visit www.ncrr.nih.gov/about_us/advisory_council/roster.asp.