Sam Levy has been promoted to director of human genomics within the human genomic medicine group of the J. Craig Venter Institute. He used to be a senior scientist at the institute. Levy will continue to lead studies to functionally characterize DNA variants within the human genome, and to sequence 10,000 human genomes over the next 10 years. Prior to joining JCVI in 2002, he worked at Celera Genomics and was involved in developing computational tools for gene discovery and functional annotation in Drosophila and humans. Levy holds a PhD in cell and computational biology from the University of Bristol and a BS in molecular biophysics from the University of Leeds, both in the UK.
Karen Nelson has been promoted to director of human microbiology and metagenomics within JCVI’s human genomic medicine group. She has held various positions within JCVI and its preceding organizations since 1996. Nelson holds a PhD in microbiology from Cornell University, an MS in animal science from the University of Florida, Gainesville, and a BS in animal science from the University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago.
Yu-Hui Rogers has been promoted to vice president of core technology development and services at JCVI. She will continue to oversee the operation of the core DNA sequencing facility, and provide technical leadership for new genomics technology development, implementation, management, and services. Prior to her promotion, Rogers, who joined JCVI in 2002, was scientific director of the institute’s Joint Technology Center. Prior to coming to JCVI, she was manager of sequencing research and development at Celera Genomics. Rogers holds an MS in chemistry from the American University and a BS from Chung-Shing University in Taiwan.
Robert Friedman has become deputy director of JCVI’s California facility in La Jolla. He used to be JCVI’s vice president for public policy. Friedman will oversee operations of JCVI La Jolla, which currently has a staff of approximately 40 in 20,000 square feet of lab and office space. The new facility, which intends to expand, is engaged in synthetic, environmental, and human genomic research. Prior to joining JCVI in 2003, Friedman was vice president for research at the Heinz Center, a nonprofit environmental policy research organization. He holds a PhD in ecological systems analysis from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Richard Lussier has become vice president for sales and international operations at Cell Biosciences of Palo Alto, Calif. Previously, he worked for Solexa, establishing the company’s worldwide sales, service, and support organization. In the past, he held positions at Applied Biosystems and Celera Genomics, including president and general manager of Applera’s Japanese subsidiary.
James Pardee has become interim chief financial officer of Selectica. He is a partner and co-founder of FLG Partners. Prior to that, he was CFO of Alpha Innotech, a genomic tools company providing signal detection and digital imaging support for life sciences applications. Pardee is a co-founder and CFO of Applied Biosystems. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering from Purdue University.
Celera has added two directors to its board: William Green is general counsel and chief program officer of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and former senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary of Chiron. Gail Naughton is dean of the College of Business Administration at San Diego State University and chairman and CEO of Histogen.