BIOLOGY

Battelle announced that Dr. David Galas, a nationally known leader in biological and life sciences, will join the global R&D organization as Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer for Biological and Life Sciences. "The next couple of decades will be a period in which the life sciences will have an increasingly dramatic effect on our society-from improved health care and unlocking secrets of the human genome to breakthroughs that result from collaboration between biological sciences and such areas as high- performance computing," said Carl Kohrt, Battelle President and CEO. "It will be a time of many new discoveries that will have great impacts on our society and the marketplace. David Galas, whose world-class science credentials include an early leadership role in the International Human Genome Project, will be instrumental in expanding Battelle's role on the national and international life sciences scene. We are very excited to have him assume a major leadership role at Battelle." Kohrt added that Galas will lead corporate-wide life sciences initiatives involving Battelle's private R&D labs and the national laboratories it manages or co-manages for the U.S. Department of Energy (Pacific Northwest, Oak Ridge, Brookhaven and others). This work will focus on: building upon the growing importance of life sciences within the Battelle science and technology portfolio, helping customers meet their scientific discovery goals, moving promising life sciences discoveries to the commercial marketplace, and integrating the systems biology work being conducted in multiple laboratories. Galas brings more than 35 years of experience to Battelle in biological and life sciences research, leadership of scientific organizations, technology commercialization, and the formation of new, technology-based companies. Among the key positions he has held are: Chancellor, Chief Scientific Officer and Norris Professor of Applied Life Sciences, Keck Graduate Institute of Life Sciences (Claremont, California); President and Chief Scientific Officer of Darwin Molecular and Chiroscience R&D Inc.; Director for Health and Environmental Research, U.S. Department of Energy; Professor of Molecular Biology, University of Southern California; Senior Staff Scientist, Biomedical Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; and Scientific Adviser to the Defense Science Board. Galas as among the early leaders in the U.S. Human Genome Program and, from 1990 to 1993, he led the DOE component of this project. In recent years, his focus has included the application of a variety of scientific disciplines to addressing challenging biological and medical problems -- including Alzheimer's disease, osteoporosis, and improving diagnostic technologies. "I'm very proud to join Battelle -- an organization that I've held in high regard for a long time", said Galas. "I look forward to helping nurture and harness the many life sciences assets throughout Battelle and the national labs that we manage or co-manage, for the benefit of our customers, our society, and our communities." Galas, who spent part of his youth in Dayton, Ohio, and graduated from Dayton Chaminade High School, received his A.B. in Physics from the University of California, Berkeley; and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Physics from the University of California, Davis-Livermore. Galas is married and has two sons and one grandson.