Dr. Kary Mullis, Nobel Prize Laureate in Chemistry
Dr. Kary Mullis, Nobel Prize Laureate in Chemistry, is legendary for his invention of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which redefined the world of DNA, genetics and forensic science. PCR is hailed as one of the monumental scientific techniques of the twentieth century. His many other awards include the Thomas A. Edison Award, California Scientist of the Year, the National Biotechnology Award, the R & D Scientist of the Year and the William Allan Memorial Award of the American Society of Human Genetics. Dr. Mullis also has been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
The applications of Dr. Mullis' PCR method are already numerous. For example, it is possible using simple equipment to multiply a given DNA segment from a complicated genetic material millions of times in a few hours, which is of very great significance for biochemical and genetic research. The method offers new possibilities, particularly in medical diagnostics, and is used, for example, for discovering HIV virus or faulty genes in hereditary diseases. Researchers also can produce DNA from animals that became extinct millions of years ago by using the PCR method on fossil material, which was the story basis for the movie Jurassic Park.
To listen to Dr. Mullis' interview, click on the Biotech icon on the Professional Recruiters Web site.
Ray Fersko
Ray Fersko is the founder and managing member of Ferskos LLC, and has more than 30 years of experience.
He has a diverse practice counseling corporations, academic institutions, government, agencies, life science investors and not-for-profit research foundations in transactional, litigation and regulatory compliance.
Mr. Fersko has represented companies before the FDA, negotiated cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs) with and for universities, the U.S. government and others who license technology. He negotiated the first CRADA for an AIDS vaccine with two institutes of NIH in 1986 and has worked with the CDC, Army and NASA.
He has litigated complex international, antitrust, libel, corporate, trademark and patent-infringement cases. He also has litigated antitrust cases involving, among other matters, primary dealers' trading of government bonds, and the recording industry. In addition, he has represented parties in aircrash and commercial litigation in the airline industry, and estate litigation involving repatriation of assets. He also has represented Polygram Records in connection with record industry "payola" investigations by U.S. attorneys in several U.S. jurisdictions and defendants in securities fraud cases brought by the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Attorney General of the state of New York.
Mr. Fersko is an internationally published expert on legal and business issues affecting life science companies; he is a Contributing Editor of the Journal of Law and Biotechnology and a frequent speaker at industry forums in the U.S. and Europe.
Mr. Fersko is admitted to practice in state and federal Courts of New York, the District of Columbia and the United States Supreme Court, where he successfully obtained a reversal and remand of and to the New York Court of Appeals. He is a member of the Bar Association of the City of New York, County and State of New York, the International Bar Association, the American Bar Association and the Licensing Executives Society International. In 1972, he received his juris doctorate from American University, where he was associate editor of the Law Review, and completed a graduate economics seminar at George Washington University. He is an adjunct professor of Biotech Law at the Washington College of Law at the American University. He also has lectured at Georgetown University Law School, City University of New York, Columbia University, Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences, the NIH Graduate School, Harvard University School of Public Health and the Center for International Legal Studies in Salzburg, Austria.
To listen to Mr. Fersko's interview, click on the Immigration icon on the Professional Recruiter's Web site.
Robert Greene Sterne, Director, Sterne Kessler Goldstein Fox
Robert Greene Sterne, Director, Sterne Kessler Goldstein Fox
Mr. Sterne specializes in intellectual property (IP) issues in the electronics, computer, telecommunications, Internet, e-commerce and business method technology areas. With advanced technical training in electronics from Tufts University, he has more than 20 years of legal experience in all aspects of IP including strategic planning, protection, licensing and litigation. He is internationally recognized as an expert on software and business method patents, having been the lead attorney for IBM in the Federal Circuit test case that led to the USPTO Software Patent Guidelines.