(San Antonio) – Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research Chairman J.R. Hurd announced today that SFBR’s Board of Trustees has named Kenneth P. Trevett as the organization’s new President. In late September, he will succeed John C. Kerr, a trustee and former SFBR Chairman, who has served as Interim President since June of 2006.

Trevett, an attorney, comes to the position with 26 years of senior management experience at independent research institutes such as SFBR, including his current position as President and CEO of Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center ("LA BioMed"), one of the largest independent biomedical research organizations in California. Previously he served as a senior administrator and legal counsel for The Schepens Eye Research Institute in Boston, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School; the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston; and The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine.

In addition to his responsibilities at LA BioMed, Trevett has served on numerous city and state research and economic development boards, and in the 1990s, he was elected to a two-year term as President of the Association of Independent Research Institutes, the national coalition of SFBR’s peer organizations.

"We are very pleased to have someone of Ken Trevett’s caliber take the helm at SFBR," Hurd said. "His appointment is the culmination of an extensive national search that included numerous highly qualified candidates from across the country, resulting in the selection of a truly outstanding new chief executive for SFBR."

Hurd continued, "With Ken Trevett’s high-level management experience at several of the leading independent biomedical research organizations in this country – especially when coupled with his legal background and his experience in philanthropic fundraising and the commercialization of research discoveries – he is exceptionally well qualified to lead the Foundation to even higher levels of achievement."

Kerr, who will continue as a member of SFBR’s Board of Trustees, said, "I am delighted to welcome Ken Trevett as the Foundation’s new President. With his proven leadership ability at several of the nation’s preeminent research institutions, he is an ideal fit for SFBR. I look forward to a close working relationship with him in my continuing role as a trustee."

Among his many accomplishments at LA BioMed, Trevett is credited with creating a more collaborative environment, developing a sophisticated technology transfer program for the commercialization of promising technology in the patient care arena, leading the organization through a campus modernization effort, attracting additional revenues to the institution, and increasing awareness of the organization within the greater Los Angeles area.

He has authored a CD-ROM and lectured and consulted extensively relating his knowledge on the licensing of academic technology, including teaching a course on the subject at his alma mater, the Suffolk University School of Law in Boston. Now he said he is looking forward to using his skills for the further enhancement of SFBR.

"The opportunity to serve as president of one of the finest biomedical research organizations in the country is an honor that is tremendously exciting for me," Trevett said. "Southwest Foundation is in an extraordinary position, with excellent scientific leadership, outstanding faculty with a strong track record of research success, an incredible Board of Trustees, significant resources, and a staff that is fully committed to the international mission of the organization. I believe it will be enjoyable and challenging to build on the organization’s great tradition of research productivity as we strive for even greater impact worldwide."

Trevett believes his job as a non-scientist leader of SFBR will be to create the best environment possible for the scientists to carry out their work. "The Foundation already has a great track record of success, so now it’s a matter of further enhancing the environment for research excellence."

Hurd pointed out that Trevett is joining SFBR at a time when the organization is at its strongest position, both scientifically and financially, in its 67-year history, and he thanked John Kerr for his dedication and service in guiding it toward success. "We owe John a debt of gratitude. He’s led the organization to a point where it is very well positioned, and now Ken Trevett can help us take it to the next phase."

Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research is one of the leading independent biomedical research institutions in the United States, dedicated to advancing human health through innovative biomedical research. It is recognized within scientific and academic communities worldwide for the quality of its basic research into the nature, causes, preventions, and treatments for disease. SFBR’s staff of more than 85 doctoral-level scientists conducts nearly 200 major research projects, with marked success in the areas of genetics, neonatal development, metabolic disorders and infectious diseases.