Massachusetts' North Shore Alliance for Economic Development Names Ex-Lawrence, Ex-Salem Official as President
William Luster has been named president of the North Shore Alliance for Economic Development, the regional job-attraction group has announced. Luster served as director of planning and community development in Lawrence, Mass., from 1998 to 2001, and economic development director and planner in Salem, Mass., from 1989 to 1996.
Established last year, the alliance serves 30 communities on Boston's North Shore. This year, Luster and the North Shore Alliance will focus on creating a branding plan and campaign that they expect to enhance regional visibility and create economic opportunities across the region in the areas of bio and life science, creative economy, green industry, health care, manufacturing and tourism, Patricia Maguire Meservey, president of Salem State College and chairman of the Alliance board, said in a statement.
Luster graduated from Salem State College in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in geography, and from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1998, with a master's in public administration. He lives in Salem with his wife and two daughters.
NC Biotech Pioneer Charles Hamner Joins Panel Examining 'RTP at 50: What's Next?'
Charles Hamner, who chairs the Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences, was among four panelists examining the challenges and opportunities faced by Research Triangle Park a half-century after it was founded, during "RTP at 50: What's Next?," a Feb. 26 talk at the Radisson Hotel Research Triangle Park.
Hamner led the state-funded North Carolina Biotechnology Center from 1988 to 2002.
NC Biotechnology Center Honors Two High School Teachers
Two high school teachers have been honored by BioConnect of Greater Charlotte (NC), the life science industry group for Charlotte and 16 surrounding counties, at its BioNight: A Celebration of BioAchievement awards event, held Feb. 19
Tamika Stubbs, a biology teacher at E.E. Waddell High School, in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district, won the 2009 BioAchievement award for excellence in education, presented by the state-funded North Carolina Biotechnology Center. Stubbs, who has launched a nanoscience club at Waddell, received the President's Award from the Entomological Society last year for innovative teaching, and was recognized as one of the top ten among over 1,000 teachers world-wide from the Biotechnology Institute, which promotes bioscience education in K-12 schools nationwide.
Pinku Mukherjee, the Irwin Belk Distinguished Scholar in Cancer Research at UNC Charlotte, won the biotech center's BioAchievement Award for excellence in research. The center helped recruit Mukherjee to North Carolina from the Mayo Clinic via the Oliver Smithies Faculty Recruitment Grant.
Simon Pedder, president and CEO of Chelsea Therapeutics, delivered the event's keynote address.
Two New Members Join Future Manufacturing Industry Innovation Council
Leanna Read, CEO and managing director of TGR Biosciences; and Lusia Guthrie, CEO and managing director of LabTech Systems, have joined Australia's Future Manufacturing Industry Innovation Council, effective with its second meeting held Feb. 26 in Sydney, according to Manufacturers' Monthly.
"The council was formed to strengthen connections between industry, the research community, unions, and government; and provide leadership to Australia's manufacturing industry.
Read is a founder of Adelaide biotechnology company TGR BioSciences, and has been the CEO since the company's incorporation in June 2001. She holds adjunct professorial positions at Flinders University as well as University of SA, and has been awarded the highest commendation from both universities.
Guthrie holds a Master's degree in science and technology commercialization from the University of Adelaide and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Medical Technology from the University of South Australia. She is a director of public listed companies Vet Biotechnology Ltd, Apomab Ltd and SDP Technology, and was until recently a member of the Manufacturing Consultative Council for the State Government of South Australia.