Governor Jeb Bush, Speaker Allen Bense, and Senate President Tom Lee Name 2006 New Board Members for Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute
08.31.06
TAMPA – The Johnnie B. Byrd, Sr., Alzheimer’s Center & Research Institute announces its new board members for 2006.
“We look forward to the coming year with our newly nominated board and all of the exciting endeavors we have to come,” says Huntington Potter, Ph.D., CEO and lead scientist for the Institute. “With the opening of the new facility in December, we have a lot of work to do,” adds Potter.
According to Florida law the board must include university and public representatives.
The 2006 board members are:
Statutory Appointments
President Judy L. Genshaft, Ph.D., University of South Florida
Mr. Bill Edmonds, Director of Research & Economic Development, Board of Education, State of Florida
Governor’s Appointments
Wayne K. Goodman, M.D., University appointment - University of Florida
Thomas Conklin, Esquire
Mr. Norm V. Stein, CEO / President, University Community Hospital
Pamela Vergara, Ph.D., Skyshadow Ventures, Inc.
House Appointments
Mr. Lindsay M. Harrington, University appointment – Florida Gulf Coast University
Angela Massey, Pharm.D., University appointment – Florida A & M University
Johnnie B. Byrd, Jr., Esquire
Mr. John M. Hehn, Jr., Florida Presbyterian Homes, Inc.
D. Howard Stitzel, III, Esquire
Senate Appointments
Ruth M. Tappen, EdD, RN, FAAN – University appointment – Florida Atlantic University
Ms. Sherrill Tomasino – University appointment – University of South Florida
Kathy Harris, Esquire
Ms. Nancy Juarez
Mr. Allen Mortham
In 2002, the legislature established the Florida Alzheimer’s Center & Research Institute as part of a comprehensive strategy to serve the needs of Florida’s citizens. Re-named the Johnnie B. Byrd, Sr. Alzheimer’s Center & Research Institute during the 2004 legislative session, the Institute is dedicated to the critical scientific research that will prevent and cure Alzheimer’s disease. During the 2006 legislative session, the legislature approved HB 1027/SB 1826, which outlines the board appointments.
The National Institutes of Health has designated the Byrd Institute and the University of South Florida as the only Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center in Florida, generating more than $7 million in research money. There are only 32 of these centers in the country, and Florida is one of only 21 states with centers that have earned the designation.
The Institute, housed on the campus of the University of South Florida, is as much an intellectual consortium as it is a bricks-and-mortar facility. The Institute is dedicated to supporting and coordinating the tremendous research, expertise, experience, and creative vision of medical professionals throughout Florida. We are building cooperative relationships with national and international scientists that will move research results faster into clinical applications to delay onset, slow and, ideally, halt the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
Collaborators include scientists, medical doctors and caregivers, health care providers, educators, advocates, volunteers, and civic leaders. Every individual who teaches, speaks out, provides care of dollars on the subject is a partner in the effort. Floridians are the first beneficiaries of the world-class Institute due to the early access to promising new treatments.
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