Oryzon Genomics, S.A. announces the appointment of  Paul Lazzeri as Assistant Director of Research and Development. Dr Lazzeri will have general responsibility for the company’s Research and Development programmes, working together with the ORYZON scientific research management team. He will have particular focus on the continued development and expansion of the Division of AgroGenomics.

Dr Lazzeri did his doctoral research at the Institute of Plant Science Research (IPSR) in Norwich, UK and then held a number of academic posts working in the area of genetic modification of  crops in the USA, Germany and the UK. Dr Lazzeri established the Cereal Transformation Group at Rothamsted Research in 1992 and developed a major research programme culminating in the first public sector field trials of transgenic wheat varieties in Europe. He also established a number of industrial research collaborations with companies including  Zeneca, Unilever / PBI and Scotia Pharmaceutical. During four years he was the Research Manager of the DuPont Cereal Biotechnology Laboratories, based in Hertfordshire UK, where he was responsible for the cereal biotechnology research programme and its integration with breeding activities and was a member of the Wheat Research Strategy Group for the company. When DuPont translated its European cereals research programmes to the USA, Dr Lazzeri moved to Spain.

Dr Tamara Maes, ORYZON genomics CSO expressed her conviction that “the appointment of Dr Lazzeri will further strengthen the company´s research in cereals and his appointment together with the recent patenting of our novel OrySAM technology will add greater impetus to our development of  non-transgenic approaches to the genetic improvement of important crop species.