EVP of Merck Visits JGSM and the SHMC
Sebastien Cleiftie ‘02
Issue date: 4/5/01 Section: Johnson News
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Dr. Ed Scolnick, Executive Vice President of Merck and Co. Inc., visited the Science and Health Management Club (SHMC) on February 9th during a one-hour lunch which included a Q&A session on topics such as Merck’s Vioxx launch, and the company’s position, objectives, and challenges in the Industry. His visit capped a week-long visit to Cornell University as part of the inaugural Rhodes Class of ’56 Professorships, established in 2000 and awarded for a period of one to five years.
Dr. Scolnick is President of Merck Research Laboratories and Executive Vice President of Science and Technology within Merck. He also is a widely respected scholar in his primary field of virology, particularly protein synthesis, cancer biology and molecular virology, as well as combinatorial chemistry and rational drug design. He began his scientific career as an independent researcher with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), became head of the NIH Genetics Section and eventually became NIH Chief of the Laboratory of Tumor Virus Genetics. He joined Merck in 1982. Under Scolnick’s leadership, and with a seven-year clinical research program with the World Health Organization, Merck researchers discovered the drug Mectizan, which prevents river blindness caused by a parasitic worm endemic to Africa. In 1987, Merck decided to donate Mectizan free to all people affected by river blindness for as long as necessary.
Scolnick has served on academic committees at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine and the Thomas Jefferson Medical College. He has published nearly 200 scientific articles and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Scolnick is President of Merck Research Laboratories and Executive Vice President of Science and Technology within Merck. He also is a widely respected scholar in his primary field of virology, particularly protein synthesis, cancer biology and molecular virology, as well as combinatorial chemistry and rational drug design. He began his scientific career as an independent researcher with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), became head of the NIH Genetics Section and eventually became NIH Chief of the Laboratory of Tumor Virus Genetics. He joined Merck in 1982. Under Scolnick’s leadership, and with a seven-year clinical research program with the World Health Organization, Merck researchers discovered the drug Mectizan, which prevents river blindness caused by a parasitic worm endemic to Africa. In 1987, Merck decided to donate Mectizan free to all people affected by river blindness for as long as necessary.
Scolnick has served on academic committees at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine and the Thomas Jefferson Medical College. He has published nearly 200 scientific articles and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.