UMBI PRESIDENT HUNTER-CEVERA HONORED BY WVU

Morgantown, W.Va—In recognition of her international reputation as an outstanding leader and researcher in biotechnology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute President Jennie C. Hunter-Cevera has received the Distinguished Alumni Award from West Virginia University.

Dr. Hunter-Cevera has been UMBI president for the past three and a half years where she has applied her skills and knowledge of both academic and industry research to build and enhance a wide range of research programs, train biological scientists and catalyze economic development in biotechnology and related sciences.

The institute’s five diverse research centers and many cooperative ventures across Maryland allow UMBI to carry out its state mandate for biotechnology research and training by working directly with companies, educators and other university researchers anywhere in the state.

Prior to joining UMBI, President Hunter-Cevera served as head of the Center for Environmental Biotechnology at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. She was also project manager for the California Institute of Food and Agriculture and research scientist and director for a number of commercial biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, including E.R. Squibb, Cetus Corporation, Geobiotics, Biosource Genetics, and Universal Flavors. She also founded The BioNetwork, a consulting company, and co-founded a research company, Blue Sky Research.

"Dr. Hunter-Cevera is truly among our legacies of success," said WVU President David C. Hardesty Jr. "With our new Life Sciences Building and researchers employing new methods to find cures for such illnesses as cancer and Alzheimer's disease, WVU is honored to claim as one of its own a leader in the field of biotechnology."

In accepting the award, she reflected upon her first ride to college with her parents and uncle from their hometown, less than two hours to the north. “That original ride from Monessen, Pennsylvania to Morgantown, West Virginia was the beginning of a wonderful life journey for my family and me,” she said, adding that in the next few years she changed her major several times. “I did end up with a BA in biology but the value of studying Shakespeare, sociology, anthropology, world history, and modern dance–all helped me to develop as a well-rounded individual. This is what made WVU special for me.”

The wide range of courses at WVU and learning how to “duel task” in pursuing goals worked to her advantage, both in earning her Ph.D. in microbiology at Rutgers University and in her career. “I shall forever be grateful for this prestigious award, “she said. “At WVU, I learned how important it was to be able to make connections between the micro and the macro world. This enabled me to make important, novel discoveries later in my career.”

Dr. Hunter-Cevera gave further tribute to her alma mater by observing that the education in biological sciences she received had been ahead of its time in many ways. “The new buzzword in biotechnology is system biology. However, system biology is not a new word, as many would lead you to believe today. It was alive and well in the biology department at Brooks Hall back in the 1960s,” she offered.

Dr. Hunter-Cevera has given over 40 invited lectures and seven keynote lectures. She was elected to the American Academy of Microbiology in 1995, received the Society of Industrial Microbiology’s Charles Porter Award in 1996, elected as an SIM Fellow in 1997 and named the Nath Lecture at WVU in 1999.

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The University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute was mandated by the state of Maryland legislature in 1985 as “a new paradigm of state economic development in biotech-related sciences.” With five major research and education centers across Maryland, UMBI is dedicated to advancing the frontiers of biotechnology. The centers are the Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology in Rockville; Center for Biosystems Research in College Park; and Center of Marine Biotechnology, Medical Biotechnology Center, and the Institute of Human Virology, all in Baltimore.