DuPont Strengthens Commitment to Responsible Science with New Biotech Advisory Panel Members

WILMINGTON, Del.- DuPont today announced the addition of Deepak Pental, Ph.D., and Rebecca Goldburg, Ph.D., to its external Biotechnology Advisory Panel. They join the ranks of six other distinguished panel members who bring diverse viewpoints to the broad area of biotechnology and its application in agriculture, food and bio-based materials.

Pental is a professor of Genetics and Vice Chancellor for the University of Delhi. Goldburg is a senior scientist with Environmental Defense Fund in New York.

“Doctors Pental and Goldburg bring fresh perspectives to the Biotech Advisory Panel and we are honored that they have joined it,” said DuPont Chairman and CEO Charles O. Holliday, Jr. “The addition of these world-renowned experts will help DuPont continue its commitment to responsibly use the tools of biotechnology as it develops sustainable solutions for its customers and society.”

Pental is an elected member of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, Indian Academy of Sciences and the Indian National Science Academy. Pental has served on many important committees related to science and technology in India including the Governing Body of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. He is currently a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Government of India.

Pental’s research interest is in breeding of mustard, an important oilseed crop of dry land areas of northern India.

At Environmental Defense Fund, Goldburg’s efforts focus on addressing scientific and public policy issues concerning fish farming and antibiotic use in animal agriculture and increasing market demand for more sustainably produced seafood.

Goldburg’s past service includes the National Academy of Science’s Committee on Genetically Modified Pest-Protected Crops, the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology, and the State Department’s US-EU Consultative Forum on Biotechnology.

Established in 2000, the DuPont external Biotechnology Advisory Panel is an independent panel charged with providing counsel to guide DuPont actions, help create positions on important issues, as well as challenge the organization in the development, testing and commercialization of new products based on biotechnology.

In addition to Pental and Goldburg, the other panel members include:

Marcelo Carvalho de Andrade, M.D., an accomplished advocate of sustainable community development and environmental preservation and restoration. He is the founding chairman of Pro-Natura, the first international nongovernmental organization headquartered in the southern hemisphere to specialize in sustainable development.

Jason Clay, Ph.D., vice president for the Center for Conservation Innovation at the World Wildlife Fund. Clay has been engaged in detailed examinations of the social and environmental impacts of commodity production in land- and water-based agriculture, fisheries and bio-energy production systems.

Jiayang Li, Ph.D., principal investigator for the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in China. As a leading scientist in plant molecular genetics, he has been selected as academian of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and fellow of the Third World Academy of Sciences.

Father Kevin T. FitzGerald, S.J., Ph.D., research associate professor in the Department of Oncology at Georgetown University Medical Center. Father FitzGerald is internationally known and sought after for his expertise in human genetic engineering, cloning and stem cell research.

Chebet Maikut, president of the Uganda National Farmers Federation (UNFFE), one of the largest farming organizations in Uganda. He has been a catalyst to improve agricultural practices, incomes and overall quality of life for farmers in Africa.

Sven Thormahlen, Ph.D., vice president of the Research and Development Organization of the Danone Group, a world leading company in the field of dairy products, biscuits and mineral water. Thormahlen’s experience covers product research, product development, clinical studies and quality assurance.

The work of the advisory panel is facilitated by the Keystone Center, a non-profit organization based in Keystone, Colo., which includes a regular audit of DuPont progress in the biotechnology arena. This public report is available at http://www.dupont.com/biotech Leaving Pioneer.com.