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(Kansas City, MO) September 12, 2006—Paul S. Keim, a specialist in the development of DNA fingerprinting assays for understanding and tracking dangerous diseases such as anthrax and plague, is the featured speaker in MRI’s Salute to Science Seminar in October. He is director of pathogen genomics at Translational Genomes (TGen) Institute and is the Cowden endowed chair in microbiology at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.
The presentation by Keim, Ph.D., begins at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 3, at MRI’s Arthur Mag Conference Center, 4920 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo. The presentation is free and open to the public; however, reservations are requested by calling MRI Salute to Science coordinators at 816.360.5381 by Friday, Sept. 29.
During the 2001 anthrax letter attacks, Keim diverted his laboratory and personal efforts to DNA analysis of the anthrax strain from the letters. His work resulted in one of the most tangible forensic leads in the investigation.
He has consulted and testified in DNA fingerprinting trials and for the Federal Government and continues to assist the national intelligence community in the area of biological weapons and genomic analysis.
Keim earned a doctorate in plant biochemistry from KU in 1981. In 2004, Keim received KU’s Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award.
(Kansas City, MO) August 30, 2006—A reorganization of Midwest Research Institute’s Research Operations was announced today by Michael Helmstetter, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Director of Research Operations at MRI, a leading, not-for-profit research institute that conducts scientific research for government and industry.
“Our reorganization reflects the significant growth that MRI’s Research Operations has experienced in recent years and aligns the institute’s technical capabilities with business strategies and new programs that will support future growth in our key market areas of national security and defense, life sciences, and energy,” Helmstetter said.
Through leadership direction and strategic planning, MRI has generated steady growth over the past several years, with a projected doubling of Research Operations project revenue from $42 million in fiscal year 2002 to $87 million forecast for fiscal year 2007.
“We have focused our efforts on markets and clients where we could recognize sustainable growth while addressing society’s greatest science and technology challenges,” Helmstetter added.
In the reorganization, MRI will restructure its three current Kansas City technical divisions into five divisions that will be named Midwest Operations. Thomas Sack, Ph.D., is promoted to Regional Vice President of the Midwest Operations; he was previously Director of the Chemical Division. The five new technical divisions are:
- Chemical Detection Division – has expertise in chemical materials and is responsible for projects and programs involved with chemical threat agent analysis. Focus areas include detecting chemicals in the environment, developing analytical methods using mass spectrometry and chromatography, and continued development of chemical demilitarization programs.
- Life Sciences Division - is responsible for research focused on human and animal health and has expertise in biological threats, vaccine development and research, toxicology, proteomics and methods development for pathogen detection and infectious diseases.
- Product Sciences Division – will focus on research supporting product development. Includes expertise in agricultural research, product chemistry and analysis, and chemical synthesis. Programs will include plant research, drug/chemical development, seed coatings, and herbicide and pesticide product analysis.
- Special Programs Division – is responsible for and has expertise in developing novel systems for counterterrorism, handling biological and chemical testing in the field, design and development of mobile laboratories, and staffing of field laboratories, as well as designing and conducting comprehensive field tests and studies.
- Engineering Division – is responsible for the design and prototype development for a variety of engineering applications in the defense, life sciences and energy businesses, including collection devices, triggers, and sensors, as well as associated software development. MRI’s Transportation Research Center will continue to report to the Engineering Division.
The promotion of directors for each of the new divisions was also announced. The directors, who will report to Sack, are:
- Barry Astroff, Ph.D., is named Director of Life Sciences; he was Principal Advisor of Science in Life Sciences.
- Robert Barton, Ph.D., is named Director of Engineering; he was Deputy Director of the Applied Engineering Division.
- Roger Harris, Ph.D., is named Director of Product Sciences; he was Section Manager of the Agriculture Sciences Group.
- Daniel Kuchynka, Ph.D., is named Director of Chemical Detection, he was Section Manager of Chemical Demilitarization in the Chemical Sciences Division
- Gil Radolovich, M.S., is named Director of Special Programs; he was Principal Advisor for Chemistry.
Rich Brown is appointed Chief Advisor for Science, a newly created position critical for providing strategic guidance on opportunities in the fast growing biotech and product chemistry industries. Brown was previously Director of the former Life Sciences Division and will report to Sack.
The reorganization also includes the creation of a new Strategic and Emerging Program Development Group in MRI’s Research Operations. Roger Starnes, M.S., MBA, formerly Director of MRI’s Applied Engineering Division, has been promoted to Group Vice President of Strategic and Emerging Program Development. Starnes will guide MRI’s efforts in the development of large, integrated initiatives, new business areas, regional expansions, and other efforts with a longer term focus. “This new group will further strengthen our ability to predict, analyze and shape emerging markets and to pursue broad, integrated programs,” Helmstetter said.
John Stanley, Ph.D., will continue as Group Vice President of Business Development for MRI Research Operations with a focus on MRI’s existing client base and core business areas and programs. Stanley and Starnes report to Helmstetter.
The personnel appointments are effective immediately while the reorganization will evolve over the next several months under the direction of the Research Operations leadership team.
MRI Research Operations administrative groups and operations on the East Coast are not affected by this reorganization and will continue to report to Helmstetter.
(Kansas City, MO) August 24, 2006—Midwest Research Institute’s Kansas City facility has been awarded ISO 9001:2000 certification from BSI Management Systems, a certification body for the International Organization for Standardization.
The ISO 9001:2000 certification signifies that MRI’s quality management system meets specific requirements that demonstrate MRI’s ability to:
- Consistently provide product and services that meet client and applicable regulatory requirements, and
- Enhance client satisfaction through the effective application of the quality management system, including processes for continual improvement of the system and the assurance of conformity to customer and applicable regulatory requirements.
“Throughout its 60-year history, MRI has built a solid reputation for excellent scientific research by setting high quality standards and exceeding customer expectations,” said Michael Helmstetter, Ph.D., MRI Senior Vice President and Director of Research Operations. “The ISO 9001:2000 certification is an endorsement of that long-held reputation and recognizes the team effort required to support processes and systems that are designed to deliver quality services and products time after time.”
MRI registered the following activities for the scope of work included in the ISO 9001:2000 certification of its Kansas City facility: contract research that typically results in service-based products such as methods, instruments, prototype devices, chemical compounds and reports from research, design, development, test, evaluation, assessment, analysis and management activities in the areas including national security and defense; life and health sciences; agricultural and food safety; biotechnology; development and registration of agricultural products; efficacy and safety of pharmaceutical products/services (human and animal), toxicological properties of chemical; assays for detecting food-born pathogens; coating technologies; electrical, mechanical, chemical, environmental, civil, transportation and systems engineering; bioengineering; electronics; medical electronics; software development; instrumentation enhancement; experimental design; fieldable laboratories; proteomics; chemical synthesis; sampling technologies; sampling and analysis, validation and ultratrace chemical analysis; mass spectrometry; chromatography; and chemical systems/analysis.
Helmstetter noted that MRI has also begun the ISO certification process at its Rockville, Maryland facility and will begin the process at its Palm Bay, Florida facility in the near future.
(Kansas City, MO) July 11, 2006—Frank L. Douglas, executive director of the Center for Biomedical Innovation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will be the featured speaker in MRI’s Salute to Science Seminar in July. He will talk about the future of scientific research in the life sciences – new trends, challenges, and ways that academia, industry, and government can work together to make new discoveries a reality.
The presentation by Douglas, Ph.D., M.D., will be held at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 11, at MRI’s Arthur Mag Conference Center, 4920 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo. The presentation is free and open to the public; however, reservations are requested by calling MRI Salute to Science coordinators at 816.360.5381 by Friday, July 7.
The Center for Biomedical Innovation, jointly organized by the MIT Schools of Engineering, Management, and Science, and the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, brings together representatives from industry, government, and academia in a “safe harbor” setting for cross-institutional and cross-disciplinary dialogue.
Douglas is a former executive vice president and chief scientific officer for Aventis SA pharmaceuticals, now Sanofi-aventis.
A leader is managing innovation in pharmaceutical research and development, Douglas received the Global Pharmaceutical R&D Director of the Year Award in 2001 and in 2004. He has served as chairman of the Executive Committee of the Science and Regulatory Section of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association (PhRMA), has been a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; and a member of the Board of Directors of Medtronic, Inc.
Born in British Guyana, he holds an undergraduate degree from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Penn., and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry and M.D. from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.
Douglas trained in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital, held a fellowship in neuroendocrinology at the National Institutes of Health, and taught medicine and clinical pharmacology at the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago.
He joined the pharmaceutical industry in 1984 and was named senior vice president and director of U.S. Research at Ciba Geigy in 1987. In 1992, he joined Marion Merrell Dow as executive vice president of global research and development.
(Kansas City, MO) June 29, 2006—Boeing and a team of U.S. bio-defense companies, including MRI, will modify the ScanEagle unmanned air vehicle (UAV) to look for biological warfare agents as part of a program funded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) of the U.S. Department of Defense. Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world's largest space and defense businesses.
The DTRA has awarded Boeing Phantom Works, a two-year, Phase 1 contract worth $8.2 million for the Biological Combat Assessment System (BCAS) Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD) program.
MRI will develop and design the electrostatic precipitators used in the air sampler as well as the particle counter and the electronics used to support them.
MRI’s role represents about $1.7 million of the $8.2 million contract. About 12 MRI staff members from Life Sciences and Applied Engineering will be involved in the program.
“Being selected as a member of the Boeing-led team is excellent recognition of MRI’s capabilities and expertise in developing biological detection systems and then applying that technology to new uses in national defense and security,” said MRI President and CEO Jim Spigarelli. “We are proud of our role on the team and the contribution we can make in protecting society from biological warfare.”
The DTRA and the Boeing-led team will work with the U.S. Pacific Command and the U.S. Navy Third Fleet to design and develop a remote sensor system that can assess battle damage and collateral effects, employing breakthrough operational capabilities to locate, track, collect and detect simulated biological warfare agents in a designated target area.
The team will integrate the sensor system into the Boeing-Insitu ScanEagle UAV and then will demonstrate the system's capabilities in flight tests. Successful flight tests will lead to a possible Phase 2 follow-on contract and limited production options with the DTRA worth $15 million.
Other team members include Applied Research Associates and Steris.
(Kansas City, MO) March 8, 2006—Midwest Research Institute (MRI) will kick off its series of 2006 Salute to Science seminars with Alan Zelicoff, M.D., author of “Microbe: Are We Ready for the Next Plague?” who will discuss his book and its findings. The seminar, beginning at 5:30 p.m. (CST) on Wednesday, March 8, will be held at MRI’s Arthur Mag Conference Center located at 4920 Cherry Street, Kansas City, MO. The seminars are open to the public; however, reservations are requested by calling MRI Salute to Science coordinators at 816-360-5381.
Zelicoff, a former senior scientist at Sandia National Laboratories, will discuss in lay terms the current fear of a bird flu pandemic and how the issue has been addressed by the media. His presentation will include a discussion of public policy regarding pandemics, what is currently known about infectious diseases in humans, and the need for real-time surveillance.
His book, "Microbe: Are We Ready for the Next Plague?" released last year with co-author Michael Bellomo, covers current problems in the nation’s public health infrastructure, bioterrorism, and solutions to address emerging diseases in a timely way to permit effective intervention.
Zelicoff's other recent projects include developing Syndrome Reporting Information System (SYRIS™) for ARES Corp., in Burlingame Calif. The system is a platform-independent, networked disease monitoring tool for public health officials, physicians, veterinarians, laboratory and EMS professionals, emergency management coordinators and decision-makers.
Past speakers in MRI's Salute to Science Seminar series have included MRI Chief Biological Scientist David Franz; Paul M. Kulesa, director of the Imaging Center at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research; and former Soviet weapons expert Ken Alibek.
Zelicoff will be available to sign books during the evening.
(Kansas City, MO) January 27, 2006—Midwest Research Institute (MRI) was recognized Thursday, Jan. 26, by the 82 nd Airborne Division Commander, Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, for the voluntary support and scientific expertise that MRI provided to the Paratroopers of the 82 nd Airborne Division during their deployment to assist with the Hurricane Katrina disaster relief in New Orleans last September.
Caldwell presented a plaque recognizing MRI’s Hurricane Katrina voluntary relief efforts to James L. Spigarelli, President and CEO of the Institute, during a speaking engagement at MRI’s Board of Trustees luncheon meeting.
The efforts recognized by Caldwell are those of a team of nearly 30 engineers, scientists and technicians that MRI assembled to assist the 82 nd Airborne Division in screening flooded areas of New Orleans for potential contaminants. MRI’s efforts focused on developing faster and more efficient detection methods for better preparedness in the future. During the field screening assessment, MRI tested both emerging and existing sample detection technologies for their efficacy in on-site, rapid detection of contaminants in flood ravaged environments.
“The added knowledge from the field assessment will enable MRI scientists and engineers to develop new and enhanced on-site, rapid detection technologies that will further protect first responders and recovery teams in future disaster struck environments,” Spigarelli said.
“The entire MRI team is proud to have the opportunity to work alongside the 82 nd Airborne Division,” Spigarelli added. “The dedication of the men and women of the 82 nd Airborne in assisting the citizens of the United States is humbling. At MRI, we are gratified to employ our technical expertise to help develop the best and most advanced detection methods possible for our military and first responders.”
MRI’s Hurricane Katrina sampling and detection efforts were supported by two other Kansas City area businesses. Remel Inc. donated Xpect® Giardia and Xpect® Cryptosporidium rapid diagnostic test kits used in the sampling process. Sceptor Industries, Inc. donated the use of three OMNI 3000™ portable, high-volume, high performance air samplers.
The OMNI 3000™ is the latest version of the SpinCon air sampler, a technology originally developed by MRI and then used as a founding technology for Sceptor Industries, Inc. SpinCon is already recognized in the defense industry as the premier air sampling and collecting technology for biological organisms and chemicals.
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