Two Weill Cornell members were recently honored for their contribution to the life sciences at a ceremony whose distinguished guests included the president of Ireland, Mary McAleese. Dr. Nigel Mongan, an assistant research professor of pharmacology, and Dr. Brian Kelly, senior director of technology development at the Medical College, were named to the 2010 Irish Life Science 50, a celebrated list of Irish Americans who have pride in their heritage and a desire to contribute to advances in the treatment of illnesses.
At the May 20 event, held in The Irish Consulate in New York City, President McAleese said: "Your work impacts on us every single day, improving the quality of the food that we eat or making vital life-enhancing differences to the sick. Whether your field of specialization is biology, biochemistry or biomaterials, your research, development and constant innovation are helping make our lives longer, better, healthier and happier."
Dr. Mongan was born in Galway, Ireland, and received his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, Queens' College, and his undergraduate degree from the National University of Ireland, Galway. His plans for the future are to continue translational cancer research projects at Weill Cornell and the University of Nottingham, UK, with the goal of improving patient care and outcomes, as well as to promote formal collaborative research and training programs in oncology between teams in Ireland and at Weill Cornell and Nottingham.
As senior director of the Cornell Center for Technology Enterprise and Commercialization at Weill Cornell, Dr. Kelly manages a portfolio of inventions including pharmaceuticals, molecular diagnostics, neural stem cells, gene therapy compositions and methods, and medical devices. With more than 10 years of experience in technology licensing both in the United States and Europe, he has successfully negotiated more than 200 license agreements and has been involved in the formation of approximately 20 start-up companies. Dr. Kelly holds a B.S. in chemistry and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Leicester, UK.