KU News Release

LAWRENCE — A prominent pharmaceutical scientist with 20 years of industrial research and development experience joined the University of Kansas faculty earlier this month, thanks in part to a five-year, $2.5 million financial commitment from the Kansas Bioscience Authority.

David Volkin comes to KU from Centocor R&D, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, as the Takeru and Aya Higuchi Distinguished Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry. He will establish his lab in the Simons Biosciences Research Laboratories, focusing on vaccine and biopharmaceutical drug development. He also joins KU’s Laboratory for Macromolecular and Vaccine Stabilization, located in the Multidisciplinary Research Building on KU’s west campus.

“KU is known nationally for our outstanding School of Pharmacy and its research achievements,” said Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little. “The cancer center initiative and strategic hires such as this one are building research and commercialization capacity in vital areas of human health that benefit all Kansans.”

Volkin will have one more title as well. In November, the Kansas Bioscience Authority Board voted to name him an “Eminent Scholar.” That designation carries with it significant startup and ongoing support from the authority.

“David Volkin adds another dimension to KU’s incredibly strong drug delivery and development programs,” said Tom Thornton, Kansas Bioscience Authority president and CEO. “His industry background complements those strengths and promises to bolster a KBA priority: translating university bioscience research into economic development for Kansas.”

Volkin was introduced earlier today in a ceremony at the Capitol in conjunction with the annual Kansas Bioscience Day. Speaking at that ceremony were Gray-Little, Thornton and Kansas Bioscience Authority Chair John Carlin.

Also at the ceremony, it was announced that the authority’s Board of Directors has designated Rakesh Srivastava of the KU Cancer Center as an Eminent Scholar. He will be supported by a five-year, $1.8 million commitment. Srivastava (pronounced sir-VOST-a-va) came to the KU Medical Center last fall from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler. He is a professor of pharmacology, toxicology and therapeutics.

Volkin and Srivastava are KU’s second and third Eminent Scholars. Blake Peterson, the Regents Distinguished Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, received that designation in 2008.

Volkin held senior director positions for Centocor in pharmaceutical research and development from 2002 through 2009. Before that, he held similar management as well as research scientist positions with Merck Research Laboratories from 1989 to 2002. He also worked for two years as a research technician at the Research Institute of Scripps Clinic.

Volkin’s academic background includes a bachelor’s in chemistry from the University of California-San Diego and a doctorate in biochemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“KU is an exciting opportunity,” said Volkin. “It has outstanding faculty in the School of Pharmacy and a clear vision for research and the education of future pharmacists. The west campus expansion is a tremendous investment, with two new research buildings in place and two other buildings — the School of Pharmacy classroom building and the Bioscience and Technology Business Center — scheduled for completion in 2010. I look forward to coming to Lawrence, and I very much appreciate the commitment the KBA is making in our research program.”