JEFFERSON CITY -- Gov. Matt Blunt announced the appointment of ASPB member Roger Beachy as chairman of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Plant Biotechnology.

Beachy is the founding president of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis. He received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Goshen College in Indiana and a doctorate in plant pathology from Michigan State University. Beachy is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and is internationally known for his research on developing virus-resistant plants through biotechnology.

The Governor’s Advisory Council on Plant Biotechnology is charged with analyzing the state’s current life sciences environment to determine how the state can better capitalize on the industry’s potential, serving as an aggressive recruitment committee to attract new life sciences companies to Missouri and determining if a state-based regulatory structure is desirable.

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