Richard H. Scheller (PhD '80) has been named a trustee of Caltech. He is executive vice president and head of research and early development at Genentech, a member of the Roche Group.
At Genentech, Scheller is responsible for overseeing the strategy for research, drug discovery, business development, and early development activities. He joined Genentech in 2001 as senior vice president of research and was promoted to executive vice president of research in 2003. In 2008, he was named chief scientific officer. He assumed his current role following the company's merger with the Roche Group in 2009.
Scheller received his bachelor of science in biochemistry in 1975 from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and his doctorate in chemistry in 1980 from Caltech. After postdoctoral research fellowships at Caltech and the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Scheller was hired as an assistant professor at Stanford University in 1982. In 1993, he was named a professor of molecular and cellular physiology and biological sciences, and in 1994 as an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Stanford University Medical Center. He has been an adjunct professor at UC San Francisco since 2004.
Scheller's research elucidating the molecular mechanisms governing neurotransmitter release earned him the 2013 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, the 2010 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience, and the 1997 US National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology, among other honors. In 2014, he received a Distinguished Alumni Award from Caltech.
He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and has served on numerous advisory boards, including the National Advisory Mental Health Council of the National Institutes of Health.
The Board of Trustees is the governing body of Caltech. The Board is led by David L. Lee, chair, and vice chair Ronald K. Linde, and it is currently composed of 42 trustees, 19 senior trustees, 23 life members, and one honorary life member.
Written by Kathy Svitil