• Don Rice was named VP of U.S. sales for IMRIS (Winnipeg, Canada), joining the company after 23 years with GE Healthcare. Imris makes surgical imaging products.

• Diane Richard was named director of HR for Minnetronix (St. Paul, Minnesota). She was HR director at the Ordway Center. Minnetronix is a medical device design and manufacturing firm.

• Francis Collins, MD, PhD, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health, said he will step down on Aug. 1 to explore writing projects and other professional opportunities. Collins, a physician-geneticist, has served as NHGRI's director since April 1993. The NIH includes 27 institutes and centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

• Dennert Ware was named to the board of Pelikan Technologies (Palo Alto, California). Ware was the CEO of Kinetic Concepts. Pelikan makes hand-held diagnostic and monitoring devices.

• Rosalind Tyson was named regional director of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Los Angeles regional office. Tyson has been acting regional director of the office since the departure of Randall Lee last year.

• SonoSite (Bothell, Washington) named Richard Martin, PhD to its board. Martin was president of Medtronic Physio Control from 1998 until his retirement in 2001. SonoSite makes hand-carried ultrasound for the point of care.