HUNTINGTON -- Dr. Joan E. Wilson has been named senior scientist at the Marshall University Institute for Interdisciplinary Research (MIIR).

She's an expert in gene regulation and the second scientist to join the institute, created through the state's new "Bucks for Brains" research trust fund.

Wilson most recently was a researcher at System Biosciences LLC, a high-tech company based in Mountain View, Calif. Prior to that, she was a senior applications scientist and product manager with Panomics (now Affymetrix) and a research fellow at the Harvard Institute of Proteomics, according to a press release from the Marshall University Research Corporation.

Marshall's goal with its research institute is to develop a focused program of research dedicated to producing patentable scientific breakthroughs and creating new high-tech businesses based on those discoveries.

Wilson's group at MIIR will focus on tools for gene regulation and genome manipulation.

"I am tremendously excited about Joan Wilson and what she brings to MIIR," Marshall University President Stephen J. Kopp said in the release. "When we envisioned this institute, she is exactly what we had in mind -- a brilliant scientist with a history of commercializing research. The focus of 'Bucks for Brains' is economic development and she will be a major contributor to MIIR's efforts in that regard."

Wilson has a bachelor's degree in biology from the College of William and Mary, along with a doctorate in biological sciences at Stanford University, supported by a National Science Foundation pre-doctoral fellowship.

Wilson also was a member of the U.S. National Cycling Team from 2000-03, and has competed in the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia.

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