CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-President Charles M. Vest of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will host a celebration on Wednesday, June 12, to honor five persons whose contributions have helped place Cambridge at the forefront of the biotechnology industry.
The program and luncheon will be held in the Atrium at MIT's Media Laboratory (the Wiesner Building on 20 Ames St.) beginning at 11 a.m. The President's Office of Government and Community Relations is organizing the event. More than 140 are expected.
Those to be honored for their contributions are:
- Dr. Melvin H. Chalfen. As Cambridge's Commissioner of Health and Hospitals from 1981-1995, Dr. Chalfen, a Cambridge resident, led the city's efforts to develop reliable guidelines for recombinant DNA research, thus ensuring fertile ground for the growth of the biotechnology industry.
- Ms. Meg Golden-Fleet. Ms. Golden-Fleet, a molecular biologist at Genetics Institute, has volunteered her expertise to develop the Cambridge elementary school program "Bacteria Around You."
- Mr. Jack Heffernan. Mr. Heffernan, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Genzyme Corp. is involved in a variety of community programs providing educational opportunities for local youth interested in biotechnology.
- Dr. Vicki L. Sato. A Cambridge resident, Dr. Sato, is Senior Vice President of Research and Development at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and before that was Vice President of Research at Biogen and a biology instructor at Harvard University. She has co-authored a book on cellular immunology.
- Ms. Mary M. Splaine. Ms. Splaine, who has taught science at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School for 15 years, created in 1990 the curriculum for a new biotechnology program there. Ms. Splaine, a Cambridge resident, serves as the Cambridge community representative on the Biosafety Committee for Mitotix.
The celebration of biotechnology in Cambridge is the fourth annual "Cambridge First Day at MIT" arranged by MIT in recognition of the vital partnerships that link the Institute, the city and its people.
Speaking at the event will be:
��������������������������� MIT President Charles M. Vest
��������������������������� Cambridge Mayor Sheila Doyle Russell
��������������������������� Nobel laureate Phillip A. Sharp, head of MIT's Department of Biology
��������������������������� Biogen Inc.'s chairman and chief executive officer, James L. Vincent, who will deliver the keynote address
