Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2007

Contact: Lisa Merkl
713.743.8192 (office)
713.605.1757 (pager)
lkmerkl@uh.edu

Calling the University of Houston “a powerful ally to the life science industry in our region,” BioHouston is featuring UH’s new head of research, Donald L. Birx, as keynote speaker at its next breakfast forum Wednesday, Feb. 14.

BioHouston, a 501(c)(3) founded by regional academic and research institutions, is establishing the Houston region as a global competitor in life science and biotechnology commercialization and technology transfer to generate economic wealth for the area.

With nearly $75 million in annual research expenditures, researchers at UH collaborate with other Texas Medical Center institutions and regional biotechnology companies. Birx, vice chancellor for research for the UH System and vice president for research for UH, advocates collaborative strategic activities and research clusters that relate to and translate UH’s research capabilities, as well as build on the strengths of the university and its community partners.

In his BioHouston talk – “Research Clusters and Industry Partnerships” – Birx will outline the cutting-edge plans he has brought to Houston and the research under way at UH. In his address, he plans to cover how his ‘clusters’ approach translates to interdisciplinary research, UH’s push for Tier I status, how his background in applied research and making marketable applications speaks to the areas of tech transfer and IP, and how his finance background enhances his role in managing scientific research endeavors. He also will elaborate on some of the particular cross-disciplinary research areas he sees as being especially dynamic at UH.

Birx holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Dayton, an M.B.A. in finance and M.S. in biophysics from Miami University in Ohio, and a B.S. in engineering physics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Prior to joining UH in 2006, Birx spent a decade at New Mexico State University (NMSU) in Las Cruces, N.M., working most recently as interim vice provost/president for research and professor of physics, while simultaneously serving as president and founder of PSI, a new corporate entity at NMSU for technology development and incubation. His first role at NMSU was as director of the Physical Science Laboratory, a
500-person, university-based applied R&D organization. He spent 19 years in the private sector prior to his tenure at NMSU.

The monthly BioHouston Breakfast Forum is open to members and the public. Tickets are $20 for members, $25 for non-members and $10 for students. For more information, visit http://www.biohouston.org/breakfast.asp or call Lauren Stroman at 713-979-9106.

To receive UH science news via e-mail, visit www.uh.edu/admin/media/sciencelist.html.

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.