Karel Bolckmans, Vince DeLuca, Michael Dixon, Ian Ferguson, Rina Kamenetsky, Matthew Kramer, Brian Miki, Geoff Scollary, Clément Vigneault, Roger Wyse, Peter Rachor, Shannon Sheehan, Andrew Salazar, Janeen Vilven-Doggett, Margaret Wagner Dahl
Premium
Vineland Center Establishes 10-Member Science Advisory Committee
Vineland Research and Innovation Center has established a 10-member science advisory committee to exchange information on its research vision and direction with the center’s board of directors and CEO. The committee held its inaugural meeting at the center last week.
Committee members include:
Located in Canada’s Niagara region, Vineland is accredited with the development and release of over 150 new varieties of fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants, as well as numerous production techniques and post-harvest technologies. Last year Canada’s federal and provincial governments agreed to transform the center into an international hub for horticulture and ornamentals research, innovation and commercialization.
New Mexico Biotechnology and Biomedical Association Names Executive Officers
The New Mexico Biotechnology & Biomedical Association has named the following executive officers for 2008: Peter Rachor, president; Shannon Sheehan, vice president; Andrew Salazar, treasurer; and Janeen Vilven-Doggett, secretary.
Rachor’s Desert Oasis LLC is a business consultancy serving the biotechnology, economic development, media, telecommunications, and other technology industries. Previously, he was director of venture development at University of New Mexico’s Science & Technology Corporation, responsible for creating start-up enterprises and joint ventures from technologies developed through research.
He also launched and managed UNM’s Lobo VentureLab, a business accelerator that works with early-stage technology companies; and assisted inventors and entrepreneurs spinning off technologies from Los Alamos National Laboratory through the Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corp.
The founder of three technology ventures, Rachor holds a degree in finance from Michigan State University and has completed a certificate in entrepreneurship from Northwestern University's Kellogg School Center for Entrepreneurial Studies.
Sheehan is director of life sciences for UNM’s Science & Technology Corp., and previously served as interim director of technology transfer at West Virginia University, and as a faculty member of the University of Arizona. He has facilitated the start-up of 15 companies, has licensed dozens of technologies in both physical and life sciences, and has worked as a consultant to intellectual property law firms.
Sheehan holds a PhD from the University of Illinois’ School of Chemical Sciences and an MBA from University of Arizona's top-ranked program.
Salazar is the director of project development for Technology Ventures Corp., and has held management positions in engineering, manufacturing, finance, sales, and economic development. He also sits on the board of directors for the New Mexico Math, Science and Engineering Achievement, the New Mexico Small Business Innovative Research Board of Advisors, and the nonprofit community services agency Hogares.
Salazar has a BSci degree in mechanical engineering with an electrical engineering option from General Motors Institute and a MBA from Stanford University.
Vilven-Doggett is an intellectual property attorney with the law firm of Peacock Myers, and serves as New Mexico Biotechnology Industry Organization state affiliate and a member of BIO’s intellectual property committee.
Before becoming an attorney, she spent about 13 years as a research scientist at both Baylor College of Medicine and the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. Vilven-Doggett received a BA in biology from Baylor University in 1986 and her PhD in biomedical sciences from the University of New Mexico in 1997. Four years later, she graduated cum laude with her JD degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law.
Georgia Hospital Association Adds University Economic Development Director to Board
Margaret Wagner Dahl has been elected to the board of trustees of the Georgia Hospital Association. Dahl is director of business and economic development at the University of Georgia, where she assists university startups in the biomedical and biotechnology arenas, working with the Georgia Research Alliance and the Advanced Technology Development Center. Dahl also serves on the board of trustees of Athens Regional Medical Center.