Edward M. Scolnick, president of Merck Research Laboratories, will deliver a public lecture as a Frank H.T. Rhodes Class of '56 Professor during his visit to Cornell University Feb. 6-9. Scolnick's lecture, titled "Modern Drug Discovery and Development: Science and Availability," will be Wednesday, Feb. 7, at 7:30 p.m. in Room 200 of Baker Laboratory. It is free and open to the public.

"We're delighted to have Ed Scolnick visiting Cornell as a one of the first group of Frank Rhodes professorships," said Bruce Ganem, the Franz and Elisabeth Roessler Professor in chemistry and chemical biology at Cornell, who serves as Scolnick's official host. "He is not only a distinguished virologist and biomedical researcher, but also a major force in the development of the worldwide pharmaceutical industry."

On Tuesday, Feb. 6, Scolnick will give a talk for undergraduates and pre-med students; on Wednesday he will join members of the Cornell Computational Cancer Group, and he will deliver a talk on careers in a senior honors seminar in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. On Thursday, Scolnick and his faculty hosts will meet with students at the College of Veterinary Medicine and, among other activities, join a round-table meeting with the Veterinarian Economics Group, a new student organization. Later that day he will participate in a new course taught by Ganem on the biotechnology industry. Scolnick will spend his final day, Friday, at the Johnson Graduate School of Management, where he will meet with the student Science and Health Mangement Club.

In addition to being president of Merck Research Laboratories, Scolnick is executive vice president of science and technology within Merck and Co. Inc. He also is a widely respected scholar in his primary field of virology, particularly protein synthesis, cancer biology and molecular virology, as well as combinatorial chemistry and rational drug design. He began his scientific career as an independent researcher within the National Institutes of Health (NIH), became head of the NIH Genetics Section and eventually NIH chief of the Laboratory of Tumor Virus Genetics. He joined Merck in 1982. Under Scolnick's leadership, and with a seven-year clinical research program with the World Health Organization, Merck researchers discovered the drug Mectizan, which prevents river blindness caused by a parasitic worm endemic to Africa. In 1987, Merck decided to donate Mectizan free to all people affected by river blindness, for as long as necessary.

Scolnick has served on academic committees at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Medicine and the Thomas Jefferson Medical College. He has published nearly 200 scientific articles and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Scolnick's visit is part of the inaugural Rhodes Class of '56 Professorships, established in 2000 and awarded for a period of one to five years. The other Rhodes Class of '56 Professor, also appointed in 2000, is Richard Meier, noted architect and 1956 Cornell alumnus. Appointees are considered full members of the Cornell faculty and during each year of their appointments visit the campus for a minimum of two weeks. The appointments are overseen by the Cornell A.D. White Professors-at-Large Program.

The Rhodes professorships are designed to strengthen the undergraduate experience at Cornell through the appointments of diverse and accomplished individuals of high achievement who share their knowledge directly with students.