Iowa State University names researcher to newly established endowed chair

AMES, Iowa -- A veterinarian, researcher, scientist and entrepreneur is the new W. Eugene Lloyd Chair at Iowa State's College of Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. Peter Nara is currently co-founder, president and CEO of Biological Mimetics, Inc., a Maryland-based company that commercializes pharmaceutical products. Nara is also a former section chief of the Vaccine Resistant Diseases section at the National Cancer Institute, U.S. National Institutes of Health, in Washington, D.C.

The new endowed chair position was created to attract and build nationally recognized academic research and generate commercial opportunities, particularly in Iowa. It is supported through a gift from Dr. W. Eugene Lloyd and funding from the State of Iowa that became available after the Battelle Commission Report study recommended strategies for developing Iowa's industries in bioscience, information technology and advanced manufacturing.

In his new position, Nara will continue his research in host defense, immunology, infectious diseases, virology and vaccine design.

As Nara's research in vaccines progresses, he plans to commercialize his work through a new company at the ISU Research Park.

Although he wasn't looking for a new job, when he was recruited for the position, Nara says it is a perfect fit.

"I couldn't walk away from this," said Nara. "I think there will be some really exciting discoveries here for many years.

"Being located in Ames is perfect, because this is a real center for animal health," he added.

Nara is also establishing a new learning, educational and research center called the Center for Advanced Host Defense Immunobiotics and Translational Comparative Medicine.