DURHAM, N.C. - Dr. Ken R. Harewood, GlaxoSmithKline Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Sciences and Biotechnology and director of the Julius L. Chambers Biomedical/Biotechnology Research Institute (BBRI) at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) is the recipient of the O. Max Gardner Award.

A biologist and biochemist, Harewood was honored for his significant contributions to health disparities research, as well as his passionate commitment to enlarging the pool of minority scientists.

The awards, given annually since 1949, were established by the will of Gov. Oliver Max Gardner to recognize faculty who have “made the greatest contributions to the welfare of the human race.” It is the only award for which all faculty members of the 16 UNC campuses are eligible. Recipients are nominated by their chancellors and selected by the Board of Governors. The 2006 award carries a $20,000 cash prize and will be presented by UNC President Erskine Bowles and Gardner Award Committee Chairman Adelaide Key of Asheville.

A nationally known cancer researcher with more than two decades of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, Harewood was recruited to NCCU in 1998 to serve as the first director of the new BBRI. In that role, he has shaped and defined the BBRI’s research mission and focus, assembled research teams targeting diseases that disproportionately affect minority populations, and forged partnerships with other universities, federal agencies and industry. Having established and strengthened NCCU’s capacity to conduct cutting-edge biomedical and biotechnology research, Harewood then developed the strategic plan and grant proposal that resulted in the creation of the Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise (BRITE) on the NCCU campus. Designed to prepare scientists for the North Carolina’s growing biomanufacturing industry, BRITE is a key part of a statewide workforce development initiative supported by the GoldenLEAF Foundation that also includes NC State University, the NC Community College System, and a number of industry partners. In 2004, he was appointed NCCU’s GlaxoSmithKline Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Sciences and Biotechnology. He also holds an adjunct professorship in Duke University’s Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology.

Born and raised in Barbados, West Indies, Harewood holds an undergraduate degree in biology from New York University and earned master’s and doctoral degrees in biochemistry from the City University of New York. After completing postdoctoral work at the Alfred Kimball Institute of the New York Blood Center, he joined the cancer research division of Pfizer, Inc. During his 23-year career with the company, Harewood helped build Pfizer’s biotechnology program and participated in the discovery of viral agents that cause human leukemia and AIDS. His pioneering research also led to novel new anti-cancer drugs and to Federal Food and Drug Administration approval of the first recombinant DNA process for a food ingredient. In his later years at Pfizer, Harewood became involved as a mentor for teachers and students at area middle schools and developed summer internship programs aimed at increasing minority participation in the biomedical sciences. His growing passion for advancing minority science education led him to leave the corporate sector in 1994.

That year Harewood joined efforts already underway at Florida A&M University to reform and strengthen undergraduate science education. Before accepting the NCCU post four years later, he served as a professor in the biology department and, with industry support, launched a successful biotechnology training initiative at FAMU.

Over the past six years, Harewood has helped secure more than $30 million in external grants to support NCCU’s expanding research activities. A willing mentor to scores of students and young researchers, he has received numerous awards for his contributions to science, minority health, and minority science education.

Harewood may be contacted at (919) 530-7025 or kharewood@nccu.edu.