Sanford Research Names New President

Dr. David Pearce promoted to lead organization

Sioux Falls, S.D. (PRWEB) January 31, 2015

Sanford Health has selected a new leader for its research division. David Pearce, Ph.D., is the new president of Sanford Research.

Pearce replaces Gene Hoyme, M.D., who has transitioned to be Sanford's new chief of genetics and genomic medicine. Hoyme will also retain his positions as medical director of Sanford Imagenetics and chief academic officer for Sanford.

“Dr. Pearce is an incredibly gifted and dedicated administrator and researcher who understands and believes in the vision of Sanford Research,” said Rich Adcock, executive vice president for Sanford Health. “He will manage a growing clinical and translational research portfolio and expanding programs in genetics and genomic research.”

Pearce, who previously served as Sanford Research's vice president and chief operating officer, now oversees research activities across Sanford's nine-state footprint, including more than 200 researchers, five research centers and more than 350 ongoing clinical trials. Sanford Research also maintains a working relationship with California-based Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute and is a key collaborator with SAB Biotherapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company located within the Sanford Research Center that has developed a unique technology platform to produce clinical-grade, fully human polyclonal antibodies to treat human diseases.

Pearce will maintain his role as director of the Children's Health Research Center at Sanford Research and continue to run his lab, which is internationally regarded for its work with Batten disease, a group of pediatric neurodegenerative disorders he has studied for more than a decade.

As Sanford Research's vice president and COO, Pearce led efforts to establish the Sanford BioBank, Edith Sanford Breast Cancer Research and a global rare disease registry. The BioBank is a collection of biological samples and general health information from thousands of people for use in future research studies, while Edith Sanford Breast Cancer Research explores customized prevention and treatment strategies for breast cancer using the latest in genomic medicine.

“Sanford Research is uniquely positioned to provide translational research that can bring important discoveries from bench to bedside, improving the quality of care Sanford Health provides,” said Pearce. “Whether it is being a national leader in head and neck cancer survival rates or bringing innovative medical devices to market, Sanford Research is changing the landscape of health care.”

Prior to joining Sanford Research in 2009, Pearce was a researcher and associate professor at the University of Rochester (N.Y.). A native of the United Kingdom, he graduated from Wolverhampton Polytechnic and has a doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Bath. Pearce also did postdoctoral work at the University of Rochester and Oxford University.

About Sanford Research
Sanford Research is a non-profit research organization and is part of Sanford Health, an integrated health system headquartered in the Dakotas. Sanford represents the largest, rural, not-for-profit health care system in the nation with a presence in 111 communities, nine states and two countries. In 2007, a transformational gift of $400 million by Denny Sanford provided for an expansion of children's and research initiatives, one of which was to find a cure for type 1 diabetes, and has given Sanford Research significant momentum in its goal of becoming one of the premiere research institutions in the United States and the world. Most recently, subsequent gifts of more than $200 million by Mr. Sanford have paved the way to establish Edith Sanford Breast Cancer Research and Sanford Imagenetics.

With a team of more than 200 researchers, Sanford Research comprises several research centers, including Children's Health Research, Edith Sanford Breast Cancer, Cancer Biology, Center for Health Outcomes and Prevention and Sanford Sports Science Institute.

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For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/02/prweb12485905.htm