Molecular biologist named new president of Boyce Thompson

Stern

By Roger Segelken

David B. Stern, a molecular biologist who studies photosynthesis and the molecular genetics of intracellular communication in plants, has been named president of the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) for Plant Research Inc., the 80-year-old independent laboratory located on campus.

Stern, a senior staff scientist and vice president for research of BTI, had been serving in an interim capacity since March 2004 when the institute's seventh president, Daniel F. Klessig, stepped down due to illness. Stern began his appointment Aug. 1, saying he would maintain and enhance BTI's traditional strengths while working to focus the institute's energies in new areas.

"Boyce Thompson Institute scientists have made major advances over the years in the fields of plant-microbe interactions, plant chemistry and plant development," Stern said, "and these areas continue to evolve and excite us. Looking ahead, BTI will enhance its research mission in fields such as molecular and chemical ecology and plants and human health, in partnership with Cornell, USDA [United States Department of Agriculture] and other entities. I also look forward to BTI playing an increasing role in science education at every level."

Said Paul Hatfield, chair of the BTI board of directors: "David Stern brings to the presidency an exceptional complement of scientific achievement, leadership and communication skills as well as an exciting vision for the future of BTI."

Kraig Adler, Cornell's vice provost for life sciences, said: "We are delighted that a scientist of such international stature and vision is prepared to lead BTI. The fact that he is a long-term staff member at the institute is an enormous additional benefit."

Susan A. Henry, the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of Agriculture and Life Sciences, commented: "David Stern is an outstanding plant molecular biologist with proven leadership skills. He is an excellent choice for president of the Boyce Thompson Institute. I look forward to strengthening the partnership between the institute and the college, particularly in regard to our research in genomics and the plant sciences."

Stern joined the BTI staff as an assistant scientist in 1989, after completing a postdoctoral research fellowship at University of California-Berkeley, a Ph.D. in biological sciences (1986) at Stanford University, a master's degree in biochemistry (1982) at Cambridge University, and a bachelor's in molecular biology (1981), also at UC-Berkeley.

The author or co-author of more than 95 scientific publications, Stern has served as an editor at the journals Plant Cell and Plant Molecular Biology. He is an adjunct faculty member at Cornell and has taught courses in plant molecular biology and gene regulation. Stern also manages a laboratory group staffed by postdoctoral fellows, international exchange students, technicians, graduate students, undergraduates and high school students.

Stern said BTI would maintain active partnerships with Cornell's academic units, particularly the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, "and with our neighbors across the street, the [USDA Agricultural Research Service] Plant, Soil and Nutrition Laboratory."