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2003 News Releases 11.21.03 11.06.03 09.09.03 07.23.03 07.01.03 02.07.03 (Kansas City, MO) November 21, 2003—Midwest
Research Institute recently promoted two executives at its headquarters
office in Kansas City, Mo. Steve Lufkin and Michael Helmstetter, Ph.D.,
both were promoted from vice president to senior vice president. Both
serve on MRI’s Senior Management Team and MRI’s President’s
Council. |
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Media Inquiries: Linda Cook |
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Prior to joining MRI, Lufkin held a series of positions at the pharmaceutical company Hoechst Marion Roussel, providing strategic direction for new product introductions that represented nearly $1 billion of future sales. He joined MRI in 2000, and in 2002 he was appointed Vice President of Technology and Strategic Business Development. Since then, he has been instrumental in helping MRI develop additional revenue streams through technology commercialization. Helmstetter joined MRI in April 1999 as Director of MRI’s Florida Division located in Palm Bay. He was promoted to Director of East Coast Operations in 2002, and he was promoted to Vice President and Director of Technical Operations in 2003. Helmstetter’s leadership at MRI’s Florida Division; National Capital Region Laboratory in Rockville, Md.; and now in Kansas City has been a major factor in the Institute’s current strong financial position. Midwest Research Institute is an independent, not-for-profit
scientific research organization headquartered in Kansas City. It has
managed and operated the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
for the Department of Energy since NREL’s founding more than 25
years ago. Two International Experts in Biodefense Join Midwest Research Institute (Kansas City, MO) November 6, 2003—Midwest Research Institute (MRI) announces two new appointments: David R. Franz, D.V.M. and Ph.D., as Chief Biological Scientist, and Ted Hadfield, Ph.D., as Chief Bioscience Advisor. Both are considered international experts and represent MRI’s increasing stature in the field of biodefense. “To have researchers the caliber of Dr. Franz and Dr. Hadfield on our staff will allow MRI to take our biodefense program to the next level,” said MRI President and CEO Jim Spigarelli. “These are two of the most highly respected individuals in the world in this particular area of expertise.” David Franz, a Kansas native, will contribute to MRI’s activities in the field of biosecurity and biodefense from an office in Frederick, Md. He is a retired Army Colonel who served in the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, and is a former Commander of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) at Fort Detrick, Md. Franz served as chief inspector on three U.N. special commission biological warfare inspection missions to Iraq. He also served as a member of a U.S./U.K. team that visited Russia in support of the Trilateral Joint Statement on Biological Weapons and as a member of the Trilateral Experts’ Committee for biological weapons negotiations. Franz has a D.V.M. degree from Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and a Ph.D. in physiology from the Baylor College of Medicine. Ted Hadfield will provide expertise to MRI in the area of select agent assay development, evaluation, and validation. He will be located in MRI’s Florida Division in Palm Bay. Since 1980, Hadfield has served in a variety of capacities with the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), managing a specialized staff of bacteriologists, virologists, and molecular biologists. As Director of the Microbiology Division at AFIP, he earned an international reputation in biowarfare assay development and detection. He and his team worked with a large select agent collection, supplying laboratories across the country. He is highly proficient in developing validation programs for reagents, and was involved in site projects standardizing test beds for new instrumentation and developed methods for forensic testing of microbes. More recently, Hadfield served as Distinguished Scientist with the American Registry for Pathology. He received his Ph.D. in immunology and microbiology from the University of Utah. MRI is an independent, not-for-profit laboratory that conducts scientific research and technology development for government and industry. It operates major laboratories at its headquarters site in Kansas City, Mo., as well as Palm Bay, Fla.; and Rockville, Md. It also manages and operates the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy. Midwest Research Institute on Biodefense Team for New Midwest Center (Kansas City, MO) September 9, 2003—Midwest Research Institute (MRI) in Kansas City, Missouri, is part of a team that was selected last week to be a biodefense hub for the country’s Midwest region and will help play a role in protecting Americans against bioterrorism and emerging infectious diseases. Led by Washington University in
St. Louis, MRI along with Saint Louis University, the University of
Missouri-Columbia, and
Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland will form the Midwest Regional
Center for Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases
Research (Midwest Center), which could receive up to $35 million in grants
over the next five years. The grants will be administered by the National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a part of the Department
of Health and Human Services’ National Institutes of Health. (Kansas City, MO) July 23, 2003—Midwest Research Institute is conducting research important to protecting America’s food supply from a terrorist attack, according to a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) report issued today to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson. MRI was cited in “Ensuring the Safety and Security of the Nation’s Food Supply,” a report released by the Food and Drug Administration. The report, which summarizes FDA actions to combat terrorist threats to food, identifies progress on the agency’s 10-point program to ensure the safety and security of the food supply. One of those 10 points is laboratory enhancements – building capacity to conduct research needed to support the food safety program. MRI is responsible for developing a method to detect a potential biowarfare threat in foods. Later this year, MRI will recommend a method for the FDA to adopt for use in its laboratories around the country. The FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition awarded MRI a five-year contract in 2002 to conduct this research. FDA selected MRI to perform this work based on our extensive experience and laboratory capabilities. MRI is one of the nation’s leading independent research institutes, providing contract research for clients in business, industry, and government. Founded in 1944 as a not-for-profit organization, MRI conducts programs in the areas of national security and defense, environment, health, and agriculture and food safety. Helmstetter Promoted to Key Post at Midwest Research Institute (Kansas City, MO) July 1, 2003—Dr. Michael Helmstetter, Vero Beach, Fla., has been promoted to Vice President and Director of Technical Operations for Midwest Research Institute (MRI), one of the nation’s leading independent research organizations. Dr. Helmstetter previously served as MRI’s Director of East Coast Operations, with responsibility for its Florida Division, based in Palm Bay, and its National Capital Region (NCR) Division in Rockville, Maryland. As a member of the management team since 1999, he has played a role in ensuring MRI continues to provide a diversity of scientific resources and he is credited with the growth and stabilization of the Florida Division and establishment of the NCR Division. Dr. Helmstetter joined MRI in April 1999 as the Director of the Florida Division. Previously he served as the President and Laboratory Director for Brevard Teaching and Research Laboratories from 1994 to 1999, Program Manager for Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution (1993-1994) in Fort Pierce, Florida, and in a series of lab management positions with the Applied Marine Research Laboratory in Norfolk, Virginia (1986-1993). “MRI is in a period of rapid growth and one of the most exciting periods in our history. Dr. Helmstetter is a proven leader, and I am very pleased that he has agreed to assume a greater role in our organization, with responsibility for all our technical operations nationwide,” said MRI President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. James L. Spigarelli. Midwest Research Institute is an independent, not-for-profit organization that performs contract research for clients in business, industry, and government. Founded in 1944, MRI conducts programs in the areas of national security and defense, environment, health, pharmaceutical product development, and agriculture and food safety. The Institute employs more than 1,200 workers, including those at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado, which MRI manages and operates for the U.S. Department of Energy. Top Scientists Honor Midwest Research Institute Staff Members (Kansas City, MO) February 7, 2003—The MRI Council of Principal Scientists, a group of leading scientists at Midwest Research Institute (MRI), has honored six MRI staff members for exemplary service in 2002. The awards were presented at a recent banquet at the Fairmont Kansas City. Dr. Dora Arneson, senior program manager in MRI’s Pharmaceutical Product Development Division, and Dr. Roger Harris, section manager in the Life Sciences Division, each received the Professional Award, in recognition of their contributions to the advancement of the research profession. Dr. Arneson is noted for her work in the area of cancer prevention, having led many studies for the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health Environmental Toxicology Program. Roy Swiger, a molecular biologist at MRI’s Florida laboratory, received the Science Award in honor of his ingenuity and scientific achievements. Swiger has achieved national recognition for his contributions to the field of biological-agent detection through novel concepts and applications. Mike Ehret, a section manager of MRI’s Florida Division and associate director of the National Capital Region (NCR) Division, received the Enterprise Award in recognition of his role in the success of the Florida Division and the newly established Washington-area laboratory. In the weeks following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Ehret was instrumental in securing important projects that led to MRI's opportunity to establish a laboratory to analyze environmental samples taken from buildings around the capital area. He also has been key to the actual design and development of the NCR laboratories and their capabilities. Barb Osterman, assistant chemist in the Chemical Sciences Division, was honored with the Achievement Award. She operates and maintains MRI’s complex analytical systems based on staged gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy. Her creative thinking and initiative have improved critical analytical processes and outcomes, including lowering the detection limits for key compounds. Dave Tibbits, principal maintenance mechanic in Facilities Management, received the Service to Research Award in recognition of his responsiveness, resourcefulness, and skill in addressing facility maintenance and emergencies. Midwest Research Institute is a not-for-profit,
independent organization that conducts contract research for government
and industrial clients. It is based in Kansas City. |
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