X PRIZE Foundation Announces Appointment of Grant Campany as Senior Director of $10 Million Archon Genomics X PRIZE
PLAYA VISTA, CA (May 04, 2011) — The X PRIZE Foundation, an educational nonprofit prize institute created to foster radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity, today announced the appointment of Grant Campany as the Senior Director of the $10 Million Archon Genomics X PRIZE (AGXP), which challenges teams of scientists and entrepreneurs to sequence 100 genomes within 10 days or less, for less than $10K per genome. Currently, there are eight registered teams from three different countries racing to create a new technology that could eventually help identify the links to genetic diseases.
As Senior Director, Campany will be responsible for the full operation of the Archon Genomics X PRIZE and will drive the marketing, education and outreach programs; secure additional funding; assist with the completion of the competition guidelines; and finalize the validation and judging process of the prize.
“Grant’s impressive career within the life sciences sector will be critical in driving the Archon Genomics X PRIZE,” said Robert K. Weiss, President and Vice Chair of the X PRIZE Foundation. “We are thrilled to have him aboard and look forward to his leadership in guiding the Foundation in the exploration of the next great frontier in science."
Campany has more than 18 years of experience leading corporate development and strategic program initiatives within the life sciences, ranging from a boutique management consulting firm, to business development for PPD Discovery and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, to global strategic planning at Chiron Corp. He began his career with 3M Pharmaceuticals and led the development and implementation of 3M’s first global R&D portfolio prioritization process across three technology platforms. Campany holds a BS in Business “With Distinction” and an MBA (with a concentration in corporate finance) from the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota.
“I feel very privileged to join the X PRIZE Foundation and lead the latest revolution in medicine—The Archon Genomics X PRIZE,” said Campany. “The combination of a $10M prize, coupled with a world class network of competing teams, provides the incentive and focused intellectual power to achieve the scientific breakthroughs necessary to advance predictive and personalized medicine. The amazing part of this competition is that everyone will benefit—patients, doctors, researchers, academicians and governments—through new technology and high quality standards established by the AGXP.”
ABOUT THE X PRIZE FOUNDATION
Founded in 1995, the X PRIZE Foundation is the leading nonprofit organization solving the world’s Grand Challenges by creating and managing large-scale, high-profile, incentivized prize competitions that stimulate investment in research and development worth far more than the prize itself. The organization motivates and inspires brilliant innovators from all disciplines to leverage their intellectual and financial capital for the benefit of humanity. The X PRIZE Foundation conducts competitions in four Prize Groups: Education & Global Development; Energy & Environment; Life Sciences; and Exploration (Ocean and Deep Space). Prizes won include the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE for private, suborbital space flight; the $10 million Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE for creating safe, affordable, production-capable vehicles that exceed 100 MPG energy equivalent (MPGe); and the $2 million Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander X PRIZE CHALLENGE for advanced rocket development. Active prizes include the $30 million Google Lunar X PRIZE, the $10 million Archon Genomics X PRIZE, and the $1.4 million Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE.
