The Board of Directors for Genome Prairie are pleased to announce the appointment of Jerome Konecsni as President and Chief Executive Officer to succeed Dr. Randal Johnston. Dr. Arnold Naimark, Chair of the Board stated, "We are extremely pleased to have a person with Mr. Konecsni's experience to provide leadership in advancing genomics and related fields of research and development in the Prairie region."

Previously Vice President, Corporate Development at the Saskatchewan biotech firm Bioriginal, Mr. Konecsni was responsible for the research and the management of Bioriginal's Intellectual Property platform and had additional responsibilities in Research, Product Development, Marketing, Quality, and Human Resources.

Prior to joining Bioriginal, Mr. Konecsni was Vice President of Agricultural Biotechnology and Vice President of Corporate Services at the Saskatchewan Research Council. His experience includes a broad range of activities in marketing, public relations, business development, human resource management, and general administration. He received his post-secondary education at the University of Saskatchewan where he obtained his BA (Honours), BEd and MA degrees.

"I am confident that Mr. Konecsni's knowledge and experience in biotechnology will help Genome Canada and Genome Prairie build new alliances in Western Canada and abroad, both in research and commercialization opportunities," stated Dr. Martin Godbout, President and CEO of Genome Canada.

Genome Prairie was incorporated in 2000 as a focus of genomics research in the Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan region. Evolving regional opportunities have resulted in a realignment of corporate strategy that includes the proposed separate establishment of Genome Alberta with a restructured Genome Prairie continuing to cover the Manitoba and Saskatchewan region and the relocation of its Corporate Office from Calgary to Saskatoon.

Genome Canada is the primary funding and information resource for genomics research and development in Canada. Thanks to federal investments in R&D and from co-funding partners, Genome Canada and the Regional Genome Centres helped position Canada as a world leader in this area. Funds awarded from the Government of Canada to date amount to $600 Million. Genome Prairie and Genome Canada will continue to promote research activities in the burgeoning fields of genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics and their social, ethical and legal implications.