News Release

The Scripps Research Institute Appoints Three New Faculty Members to Chemistry Department

Images: Tom Kodadek, Glenn Micalizio, Brian Paegel

JUPITER, FL, February 5, 2009—The Scripps Research Institute has appointed three new faculty members to its Department of Chemistry. All three will be located on the campus of Scripps Florida in Jupiter, Palm Beach County.

The three new appointments are: Tom Kodadek, professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Cancer Biology; Glenn Micalizio, associate professor; and Brian Paegel, assistant professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Molecular Therapeutics.

"All three are exceptional scientists and will be tremendous additions to the chemistry department and to the institute," said Gerald Joyce, dean of the Scripps Research faculty and a member of Scripps Research's Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology. "The three have the distinction of being among the first new faculty hired in chemistry for the Scripps Florida campus."

K.C. Nicolaou, chair of the Scripps Research Department of Chemistry, said, "The addition of Kodadek, Micalizio, and Paegel to our Chemistry Department in Florida is a major expansion of our capabilities in chemical biology and chemical synthesis. Together with the teams already in place at Scripps Florida, these additions give the critical mass we need to attract more faculty and students and to make significant contributions to biomedical research in the years to come. We welcome them on board and look forward to working with them as we strive for discoveries in the chemical and biological sciences that will benefit society."

William Roush, professor of Chemistry and executive director of Medicinal Chemistry at Scripps Florida, added, "When we look for faculty appointments, we look for top-line scientists who have the potential to move in new directions, scientists who are ready to open new doors and help change the face of science. I can't think of a better description of these three new Scripps Florida scientists."

Kodadek is currently director of the University of Texas-Southwestern Medical Center Division of Translational Research. In 2006, he received a prestigious Pioneer Award from the National Institutes of Health. His research is focused on developing new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to various diseases, including autoimmune conditions.

Micalizio spent the last five and a half years as an assistant professor of chemistry at Yale University.  He comes to Scripps Florida with a research group of six scientists from Yale. His research is focused on developing new tools for chemical synthesis and applying them to complex molecule construction. The end goal of his research is to enable new means of drug discovery fueled by advances in the science of chemistry.

Paegel, a former member of Gerald Joyce's laboratory in La Jolla, California, is well known for his work in the field of directed evolution, applying Darwinian principles to populations of molecules rather than organisms and using microfluidic technology as a platform for observing evolution in real time in molecules.

Micalizio and Paegel have already joined the Jupiter faculty. Kodadek will be arriving later this spring.

About The Scripps Research Institute

The Scripps Research Institute is one of the world's largest independent, non-profit biomedical research organizations, at the forefront of basic biomedical science that seeks to comprehend the most fundamental processes of life. Scripps Research is internationally recognized for its discoveries in immunology, molecular and cellular biology, chemistry, neurosciences, autoimmune, cardiovascular, and infectious diseases, and synthetic vaccine development. Established in its current configuration in 1961, it employs approximately 3,000 scientists, postdoctoral fellows, scientific and other technicians, doctoral degree graduate students, and administrative and technical support personnel. Scripps Research is headquartered in La Jolla, California. It also includes Scripps Florida, whose researchers focus on basic biomedical science, drug discovery, and technology development. Scripps Florida is currently in the process of moving from temporary facilities to its permanent campus in Jupiter, Florida. Dedication ceremonies for the new campus will be held February 26 – 28, 2009.

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