Healthcare >> CEO Interviews >> May 13, 2003
DR. KENNETH C. CARTER is President and Chief Executive Officer of
Avalon Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Carter has an extensive background in
both cytological including database mining and gene-array design
and analysis. His scientific work is widely referenced and has
been featured on the cover of several journals, including
Science, the world's foremost scientific periodical. He received
his PhD in Human Genetics and Cell Biology from the University of
Texas Medical Branch at Galveston in 1989, and was honored with
the University's distinguished alumnus award in 1999. Dr. Carter
also completed four years of postdoctoral research at the
University of Massachusetts while receiving research fellowships
from the Human Genome Center (NIH) and the Muscular Dystrophy
Foundation. In 1993 Dr. Carter became one of the first scientists
at Human Genome Sciences (HGSI), where he developed and directed
the company's gene mapping initiative. In this capacity he has
played a direct role in the discovery, cloning, and chromosomal
mapping of dozens of new human genes. Among these were several
disease genes including a family of genes involved in colon
cancer, whose elucidation was named the 1994 'Discovery of the
Year' by Science. In 1998 Dr. Carter became President of
International Genetics Associates, Inc. (IGA), a platform
technology company developing cutting-edge molecular cytogenetic
technology. He left IGA in December 1999 to become CEO, President
and co-Founder of Avalon Pharmaceuticals. Profile
create Avalon and what you hope to accomplish by founding Avalon
Pharmaceuticals?
Dr. Carter: I was one of the five co-founders of
