November 11, 2008

Minnesota Partnership Recruits Two Top Researchers

ROCHESTER/MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Two more nationally regarded researchers have been recruited to support critical biomedical research in Minnesota, thanks to the Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics. The two faculty investigators have assumed their new positions at Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota.

Brooke Fridley, Ph.D., has joined Mayo Clinic’s Comprehensive Cancer Center as a statistical geneticist to enhance pharmacogenomics studies. She is a biostatistician in Mayo Clinic’s Department of Health Sciences Research. She received her Ph.D. from Iowa State University.

Jatinder Lamba, Ph.D., formerly at St. Jude Children’s Hospital, has joined the University of Minnesota’s Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology. She is active in the pharmacogenomics community and specializes in the genetic mechanisms of cancer.

The two researchers were recruited under a competitive Partnership program that focuses on attracting accomplished scientists whose research interests complement each other and who will fill an established research need. The coordination and pairing of candidates is part of the ongoing efforts by the Partnership to add value and direction to Minnesota’s scientific potential. The recruiting program emphasizes specialties aligned with Partnership research areas; however, each scientist recruited is employed by one of the partnering institutions. The first pair of Partnership-recruited scientists was hired earlier this year. The recruitment process is underway for a third pair.

The Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics is a collaboration among the University of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic and the State of Minnesota. To learn more about the Partnership, go to www.minnesotapartnership.info.

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Contact:

Robert Nellis
  507-284-5005 (days)
  507-284-2511 (evenings)
  newsbureau@mayo.edu

Nick Hanson
  612-624-2449
  651-235-2265 (cell)
  hans2853@umn.edu