Leaders in Science, Advocacy, Media to Judge 2010 Biotech Humanitarian Award

• Contact: Contact George Goodno
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (Tuesday, January 05, 2010) - Today, the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) announced a distinguished panel of judges who will evaluate nominations for The Biotech Humanitarian Award and select the 2010 Honoree.  BIO created the Award to recognize an everyday hero who has helped to heal, fuel and feed the planet through their work in the broad biotech arena.  Nominations for the Award will be accepted online through the January 31, 2010 deadline. 

“The Biotech Humanitarian Award is an important way that we can recognize and place a spotlight on the lifesaving and life changing work being done every day in biotechnology,” said BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood.  “I look forward to collaborating with this distinguished panel of judges on the difficult challenge of selecting an honoree from among the already impressive group of nominees.”

The following thought leaders in science, advocacy and media have agreed to serve as judges for the Award: 

• Dr. David Agus – Professor of Medicine, Director, USC Center for Applied Molecular Medicine, Director, USC Westside Cancer Center, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine
• Dr. Roger Beachy – Director, National Institutes for Food and Agriculture, USDA
• Dr. Joshua Boger – Founder and CEO (Retired), Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated
• Dr. Yali Friedman – Managing Editor of the Journal of Commercial Biotechnology and author of Building Biotechnology
• Jim Greenwood – President and CEO, Biotechnology Industry Organization
• Steven Holtzman – Founder and Executive Chair of the Board of the Directors, Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
• Dr. Lynn Johnson Langer – Senior Associate Program Chair, Johns Hopkins University for the Master of Science in Bioscience Regulatory Affairs and President, Women in Bio
• Dr. Lovell Jones – Director, Center for Research on Minority Health, University of Texas-MD Anderson Cancer Center and Founding Co-chair, Intercultural Cancer Council
• Dr. Jay Keasling – 2009 Biotech Humanitarian and Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of California Berkeley
• Dr. Antonio Moreira – Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, University of Maryland Baltimore County
• James C. Mullen – President and CEO, Biogen Idec
• David Rejeski – Director, Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies at the Woodrow Wilson Center
• Richard Santos – President and CEO, IMA World Health
• Dr. Joachim Schneider – Head of BioScience, Bayer CropScience
• Dr. Stephen Sherwin – Co-founder and Chairman, Ceregene, Inc. and Chairman of the Board, Biotechnology Industry Organization
• Dr. Ellen Sigal – Chair and Founder, Friends of Cancer Research
• Steve Usdin – Senior Editor, BioCentury

“I look forward to working with such a well-regarded group of experts to select the 2010 Biotech Humanitarian.  The inaugural honoree Dr. Jay Keasling, set a high standard for demonstrating the extraordinary positive impact of biotech on society with his work in the fields of malaria and biofuels.  We will work hard to find another humanitarian who exemplifies such dedication,” said Stephen A. Sherwin, M.D., Chairman of BIO’s Board of Directors and Co-founder and Chairman of Ceregene, Inc.

Dr. Jay Keasling, CEO of the Joint BioEnergy Institute, Professor of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering at the University of California at Berkley and acting Deputy Director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, joins this year’s panel of judges for the Biotech Humanitarian Award.  He was honored with the inaugural Award in 2009 for his break-through work in synthetic biology, that at commercial scale, will allow for lower cost access to first-line treatment for malaria, as well significantly advance production of the next generation of biofuels.

The Biotech Humanitarian Award and the $10,000 prize will be bestowed on the Honoree during the 2010 BIO International Convention in Chicago, Illinois, May 3-6, 2010.

Nominations can be made until 11:59 pm Eastern on January 31, 2010 via www.iambiotech.org/award.

Upcoming BIO Events

7th Annual BIO Asia Partnering Conference

January 25-26, 2010

Tokyo, Japan

12th Annual BIO CEO & Investor Conference

February 8-9, 2010

New York, NY

9th Annual Windhover & Windhover PSO
February 23-25, 2010
New York City, NY

BIO-Europe Spring
March 8-10, 2010
Barcelona, Spain

BIO Intellectual Property Counsels Spring Conference and Committee Meeting
April 19-21, 2010
New Orleans, LA

BIO International Convention
May 3-6, 2010
Chicago, IL
McCormick Place Convention Center

2010 BIO Human Resources Conference
May 4-7, 2010
Chicago, IL

About BIO

BIO represents more than 1,200 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the BIO International Convention, the world’s largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, along with industry-leading investor and partnering meetings held around the world.

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