MMI Public Relations

Dr. Charles Hamner to Receive North Carolina Award for Public Service

Chairman Of The Hamner Institutes’ Board Of Directors Is Among Six To Receive State’s Most Prestigious Civilian Accolade

 

Research Triangle Park, NC -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/06/2011 -- The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences (http://www.thehamner.org) has announced that Dr. Charles E. Hamner, chairman of the institutes’ board of directors, will receive the North Carolina Award, the highest civilian honor the state bestows, at a ceremony Thursday, Nov. 10 at 8 p.m. at the N.C. Museum of History, located at 5 E. Edenton St. in Raleigh, N.C.

Dr. Hamner is well known for his pivotal role in advancing North Carolina and the RTP to preeminence within the biosciences industry. His name stands out as a biotechnology pioneer whose accomplishments have brought a huge new industry to the state. Under Dr. Hamner’s leadership, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center provided biotechnology workshops for 1,000 high school teachers, with the result that 100,000 students learned about life sciences careers in the biotech industry. To move research results from the laboratory to the market, Dr. Hamner developed a convertible loan fund that helped 52 startup companies obtain $450 million in venture capital. Among the 14 top biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies he helped recruit to the area were Bayer, BASF, Biogen and Wyeth. These companies built $900 million worth of facilities and created 6,000 new jobs in North Carolina. The state spent millions promoting Dr. Hamner’s biotechnology business plan, but it has reaped billions from the effort.

After leading the North Carolina Biotechnology Center for 14 years, Dr. Hamner retired on March 31, 2002. Throughout his research career, he has authored more than 50 scientific publications, co-authored chapters in 12 books on reproductive physiology and biochemistry, and edited two editions of Drug Development. A lifetime gardener and tennis player, Dr. Hamner lives with his wife in Chapel Hill, N.C.

QUOTES:
“I am truly honored to receive the North Carolina Award for Public Service,” said Dr. Hamner. “The state of North Carolina has embraced the life sciences and biotechnology fields, and the innovation seen today is creating a legacy for our future.”

“It is with great respect and admiration that on behalf of the Hamner Board of Directors and staff, I congratulate our Chairman and namesake, Dr. Charles Hamner, on this most fitting and extraordinarily well-deserved honor,” said Dr. William Greenlee, president and CEO of The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences.

“Each year, the North Carolina Awards are a chance for us to honor men and women who reflect the very best in imagination, exploration, creativity, and humanitarian service,” said N.C. Department of Cultural Resources Secretary Linda A. Carlisle. “Dr. Hamner has met and surpassed all of those requirements and is most deserving of this achievement.”

DETAILS:
- A PDF bio of Dr. Hamner is available online at http://bit.ly/pwu0lQ.

- In 1961, the General Assembly established the North Carolina Awards, administered by the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, which recognize notable discoveries and contributions of North Carolinians in the fields of literature, science, the fine arts and public service. The first medals were awarded in 1964 to five recipients. Since then, more than 250 notable men and women have been honored by the state of North Carolina.

Aboout The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences
The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences is a nonprofit research organization located in the heart of Research Triangle Park (RTP), N.C. The two flagship institutes at The Hamner, the Institute for Chemical Safety Sciences and the Hamner-UNC Institute for Drug Safety Sciences, build upon 37 years of preeminent research in toxicology and human health research to develop and validate new cutting-edge tools for safety assessment. Novel technologies currently being developed include in silico models for predictive toxicology, in vitro models that utilize human cells or cell lines to evaluate perturbations of cellular responses, and in vivo models to elucidate genes that play a role in susceptibility to drug-induced toxicities. The Hamner continues to grow its open, multidisciplinary campus through global partnerships with academia, industry, and government, and remains dedicated to positively impacting human health. For more information, please visit http://www.thehamner.org.