LabCorp's David P. King Keynotes Triad BioNight March 30

Keynote Speaker, Co-Chairs and Awards Committee Announced

LabCorp Chairman and CEO David P. King will be the keynote speaker for the North Carolina Biotechnology Center's will host Triad BioNight 2017 on Thursday, March 30.

The event, hosted by the Center's Piedmont Triad Office and the Advisory Committee for Biotechnology in the Piedmont Triad, will run from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Sheraton Greensboro Hotel at Four Seasons.

Co-chairs for Triad BioNight 2017 are Patti Crawford Church, director, client relations & relocation at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Carolinas Realty, and Jill Keith, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry in the department of biological sciences at Winston-Salem State University. Keith is also an adjunct professor in physiology and pharmacology at Wake Forest University Health Sciences.

Given Church’s strong advocacy and service in various leadership roles with past Triad BioNight events, she brings critical experience. “This event truly brings together the best of the best in the biotechnology world and showcases the innovation here in the Triad,” Church said. “I am delighted to serve as co-chair.”

As an accomplished scientific leader and researcher, Co-Chair Keith agreed. “I am excited to help co-lead this effort. It demonstrates why biotechnology innovation matters today and in the future.”

Triad BioNight has become the region’s marquee life science celebration, anchored by the presentation of the Excellence Awards. Nominations for the slate of awards will open Monday, Feb. 6, and a keynote speaker will also be announced soon.

This volunteer-led event, organized in collaboration with NCBiotech’s Piedmont Triad office, typically attracts several hundred leaders from academia, industry and economic development from across the state. It remains a successful initiative of the Advisory Committee for Biotechnology in the Piedmont Triad.

Michael Kelly, chair of the advisory committee and chief operating officer/chief financial officer at Piedmont Pharmaceuticals said, “Since its inception in 2005, Triad BioNight has gained a new level of momentum and meaning each time this event is held. It remains an iconic event that adds important value to the biotech community in a celebratory fashion.”

Nancy Johnston, executive director of the Piedmont Triad Office for NCBiotech, welcomes the collaborative celebration that brings together innovators from many disciplines in a unique forum. “With the leadership of our committee, the support of our event sponsors and the efforts of many volunteers, we are able to recognize excellence in academia, industry and our community,” she said.

“Triad BioNight is a unique opportunity to share with the greater community the exceptional talent and emerging technology that is underway in the Triad that has statewide impact.”

Along with Church and Keith, Triad BioNight volunteer team leaders and awards committee are:

Event Team Leaders:

• Awards: Daniel (Dan) Erb, PT, Ph.D., dean, School of Health Sciences, High Point University
• Sponsorship: Russ Read, executive director, National Center for the Biotechnology Workforce, Forsyth Technical Community College
• Marketing:  Stephen Lockwood, founder, Astronaut
• Hospitality: Andrea Howell, community manager, Flywheel Coworking
• Logistics: Bob Haack, consultant for biotechnology & life sciences strategic planning

Awards Committee Members:

• Chair: Daniel (Dan) Erb, PT, Ph.D., dean, School of Health Sciences, High Point University
• Jan Critz, MBA, director of economic development & tourism, Rockingham County
• Dan Herr, Ph.D. professor and chair, nanoscience, UNCG/Joint School of Nanoscience & Nanoengineering
• Troy Knauss, MBA, partner, Guardant Partners and vice chairman, Angel Resource Institute
• John Merrill, MBA, executive director, Gateway University Research Park
• Nick Oberlies Ph.D., professor, medicinal chemistry and pharmacognosy and director, NPDDC  at UNCG
• Wendy Poteat, MPA, director of government affairs, Greater Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce
• Cindy Rothschild, Ph.D., partner, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton
• Joan Schanck, MPA, academic research program officer, Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine
• Chris Veal, MBA, technology commercialization counselor, Small Business & Technology Development Center
• William Woodruff, MAEd, biotechnology department head, Alamance Community College (retired)
• Amanda Wright, senior director, client services, PMG Research

For more information please contact Nancy Johnston in the Piedmont Triad Office at 336-725-6671, or Jim Shamp in the RTP office at 919-549-8889.