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ASU's Poste receives Scrip Lifetime Achievement Award


December 16, 2009

Arizona State University and Caris Diagnostics (Caris Dx) are pleased to announce that George Poste has been named the 2009 recipient of the prestigious Scrip Lifetime Achievement Award.

Poste, who is chief scientist for ASU’s Complex Adaptive Systems Initiative and Vice Chairman and Chief Scientific Adviser of Caris Dx, accepted the honor during the 5th Annual Scrip Awards ceremony in London on Nov. 18.

The internationally renowned Scrip Awards acknowledge outstanding achievements in the pharmaceutical, biotech and allied industries. An esteemed panel of judges comprised of independent industry experts from around the world selected Poste for his nearly four decades of research accomplishments spanning academia, industry and government.

“I am deeply honored to have received such a distinguished award," said Poste. "A career in science offers the opportunity to learn something new every day, so it is humbling to be recognized for something that has provided me with so much personal reward.”

He added that he continues to experience these rewards in his roles within Caris Dx and ASU. Caris Dx is developing new molecular diagnostic tests for the improved detection and treatment selection of cancer and is forging new vistas in personalized healthcare, while ASU is setting new standard for biologically inspired design and understanding of complex adaptive systems.

From 2003 to 2008, Poste directed the Biodesign Institute at ASU, which fuses multiple scientific research disciplines to solve urgent problems affecting human health and the environment. Poste established the strategic direction of the institute and oversaw design of its award-winning facilities, generating cumulative research funding of $225 million in five years and recruiting more than 60 faculty members, including three members of the National Academies of Science and Engineering. Most recently, Poste launched ASU’s Complex Adaptive Systems Initiative to leverage key university research strengths against complex global challenges in healthcare, environmental sustainability and national security. He is also a Regents’ Professor and the Del E. Webb Chair in Health Innovation at ASU.

In 2006, Poste joined the board of directors at Caris Dx as Vice Chairman and Chief Scientific Adviser. Caris Dx is a leading provider of integrated anatomic pathology and oncology testing services, including molecular profiling and hematopathology.

In addition to honoring Poste’s work with Caris Dx and ASU, the award committee cited Poste’s previous accomplishments. Poste’s studies on clonal diversity in tumors in the 1970s and 1980s provided new, important conceptual insights into tumor cell heterogeneity. In 1981, Poste accepted the research director role at SmithKline and French (later SmithKline Beecham and GlaxoSmithKline), beginning a 19-year career culminating in service as the president of R&D, chief science and technology officer, and board member. During his tenure at SmithKline Beecham, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, Poste oversaw the successful registration of 31 drug, vaccine and diagnostic products and the launch of a global program for eradication of lymphatic filariasis. He retired from SmithKline Beecham in 2000.

Poste has published over 350 research papers and edited 14 books on pharmaceutical technologies and oncology. He has received honorary degrees in science, law and medicine for his research contributions and was honored in 1999 by HM Queen Elizabeth II as a Commander of the British Empire for his contributions to international security. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal College of Pathologists and the UK Academy of Medicine, a Distinguished Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University and a member of the Council for Foreign Relations. He is a member of the Defense Science Board and Health Board of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the U.S. Institute of Medicine Board on Global Health. He chaired the DoD Task Force on Bioterrorism and the newly launched DoD Task Force on Synthetic Biology.

In addition to his roles at Caris Dx and Arizona State University, he serves on boards for Monsanto, Exelixis and Synthetic Genomics, and as an adviser to Burrill & Co.

Kimberly Ovitt, kimberly.ovitt@asu.edu
(480) 727-8688
Biodesign Institute