A Diagnostics & Imaging Week

Medical Alley/MNBIO (St. Louis Park, Minnesota), a life sciences trade association serving Minnesota and surrounding areas, has added two new vice presidents to its staff. Dana Boyle will serve as vice president for business development, with a focus on bioscience, and Larry Kuusisto, PhD, is the new vice president of education and executive director of Alley Institute.

Boyle has served for the past 20 years as a trade commissioner at the Consulate General of Canada in Minneapolis, where she built relationships between the business and scientific communities, bridging Can-ada to the Upper Midwest and Rocky Mountain states. She has focused on the biosciences and environmental sectors to grow what Medical Alley/MNBIO characterized as "a strong network of contacts including small companies, large corporations, research institutions, industry associations, universities and government trade and investment offices on both sides of the border – with an objective to help create a solid and well-rounded corridor throughout Minnesota and the surrounding region."

Kuusisto has served Medical Alley for 12 years on the organization's Government Committee and three years on its board of directors. In 2004, he designed and implemented a community decision-making process determining consumer healthcare coverage stemming from Alley Institute's "Town Hall" convener initiative.

He recently completed a postdoctoral fellowship in health services research and policy in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota, and previously served in a number of roles at Northwestern Health Sciences University. Kuusisto directs the Minnesota Palliative Care Partnership and will continue in that role through Alley Institute.

Medical Alley/MNBIO President and CEO Don Gerhardt said the two additions "bring the expertise and experience that will greatly enhance the programs we bring to our members and the life sciences community that benefit from this organization's services."

He added: "We believe the surrounding states and Canadian provinces possess common attributes, challenges and great potential – and with closer collaboration, including how we inform and educate, this region will be highly successful in addressing key health and environmental issues."

Medical Alley/MNBIO is comprised of more than 500 life science member organizations employing about 250,000.