Berkeleyan

New executive director heads QB3

14 April 2004

Regis B. “Reg” Kelly

Regis B. “Reg” Kelly, a distinguished neuroscientist and former executive vice chancellor of UC
San Francisco, was named last week as the new executive director of QB3, the California Institute for Quantitative Bio-medical Research, as of July 1.

QB3, a partnership between the state of California, industry, and the UC campuses at San Francisco, Berkeley, and Santa Cruz, was established to bring together the powerful quantitative tools of the physical sciences, engineering, and mathematics to tackle complex biological problems. More than 100 faculty members work with the institute, with nearly half of those located at Berkeley.

UCSF Chancellor J. Michael Bishop announced the appointment. Kelly will direct the institute at its headquarters on UCSF’s Mission Bay campus and will also maintain a Berkeley office.

QB3’s first executive director, Marvin Cassman, stepped down last December. Graham Fleming has been acting executive director since January 1. He is the Melvin Calvin Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Berkeley and one of the three co-directors of QB3 since its inception.

At Berkeley, QB3 will reside in the Stanley Biosciences and Bioengineering Facility, which will serve as a hub for research and teaching, and will include a 900-megahertz nuclear magnetic resonance facility, a Bio-Nanotechnology Center, instructional labs, and a multimedia center. The building will be completed in spring 2006.

One of four California Institutes for Science and Innovation, QB3 conducts research critical to sustaining the state’s economic growth and competitiveness. Other institutes include the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society, based at Berkeley, and centers focusing on telecommunications and nanotechnology.

To learn more about QB3, visit www.qb3.org.