Stowers Institute Names ScientificDirector.

KANSAS CITY, Mo.--(BW HealthWire)--Nov. 18, 1999--

After a search conducted by a group of imminent biologists, the Stowers Institute for Medical Research has selected Dr. Robert E. Krumlauf to become scientific director of the Institute when its research facilities open their doors a year

Dr. Krumlauf is currently head of the Division of Developmental Neurobiology at England's National Institute for Medical Research at Mill Hill, London.

James E. Stowers Jr., president of the Stowers Institute and its principal benefactor along with his wife, Virginia, said, "Dr. Krumlauf brings the qualities we have been seeking to build a research center that will take its place among the best in the country in a relatively short time, doing genetics research in a multidisciplinary way."

Dr. Krumlauf, who was introduced at a news conference and later at a reception for business and civic leaders marking the completion of the administrative building on the Institute's 10-acre campus in Kansas City, said he was drawn to the Stowers Institute by "the opportunity to help create a world class, broad-based research center that integrates work on fundamental biological questions with state of the art technologies."

"It was exciting when I first met Jim and Virginia Stowers and realized that I shared their vision of an institute involving a strong commitment to creating an outstanding research program while also fostering interactions with local universities and medical centers and promoting science education in the community," he said.

Dr. Eric H. Davidson, a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Stowers Institute who took a leading role in the search for the director, praised Dr. Krumlauf as a stellar scientist and perfect match for the position.

"Robb Krumlauf's interests will directly encourage the cluster of intertwined areas that lie at the center of the Stowers Institute's activities," said Dr. Davidson, who holds the Norman Chandler Chair in Cell Biology at California Institute of Technology. "Our focus is on regulatory genomics, as a way of seeing into major processes of biology, development and evolution. The selection of Dr. Krumlauf goes a long way toward ensuring the uniqueness and success of the Institute."

The Stowers Institute, being built at an estimated cost of $200 million, will be one of the most technologically advanced biological research facilities ever developed. The fortune that Mr. Stowers amassed as founder of American Century Companies, a family of mutual funds, made possible the launching of the Stowers Institute, which has a current endowment worth $340 million.

Dr. Krumlauf, born in Canton, Ohio 51 years ago, received a bachelor's degree in biochemical engineering from Vanderbilt in 1970 and his Ph.D. in Developmental Biology from Ohio State in 1979. He held postdoctoral fellowships at the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research in Glasgow, Scotland, and the Institute for Cancer Research at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia before joining the institute at Mill Hill in 1985.

Note: Dr. Krumlauf's photo is available upon request

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