Akkadix Corporation, an international agricultural gene discovery and functional genomics company, today announced the appointment of Joanne Chory, Ph.D. to the Company’s Scientific Advisory Board.

Dr. Chory is an Associate Investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Professor and Director, Plant Biology Laboratory at The Salk Institute. Dr. Chory is also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

With the addition of Dr. Chory, Akkadix Scientific Advisory Board members are:

• Roger Beachy, Ph.D, Co-Chair, Director of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, Missouri, and Professor in the Department of Biology at Washington University in St. Louis.

• Chris Lamb, Ph. D., Co-Chair, Director of the John Innes Center, Norwich England, and John Innes Professor of Biology at the University of East Anglia

• Carlos Barbas, III, Ph.D., an Associate Member of The Scripps Research Institute, Department of Molecular Biology and Associate Professor, Janet & W. Keith Kellogg II Chair in Molecular Biology at The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology.

• Joanne Chory, Ph.D., Associate Investigator for Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Director, Plant Biology Laboratory at the Salk Institute.
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• Richard A. Dixon, Ph.D., Director of the Plant Biology Division of the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Ardmore, Oklahoma.

• Richard Michelmore, Ph.D., Professor of Genetics in the Department of Vegetable Crops at the University of California at Davis.

• Ethan Signer, Ph.D., Professor of Biology Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Executive Director of Cure HD Initiative, and a member of Scientific Advisory Board of the Hereditary Disease Foundation.

"Dr. Chory is a significant addition to our Scientific Advisory Board. Her knowledge of plant metabolic pathways and other plant functions are directly related to many of Akkadix’s current research programs," said Leo Kim, Chief Technical Officer of Akkadix."

In connection with Joanne Chory’s appointment, Gary Richardson, President of Akkadix, noted: "The addition of Dr. Chory to Akkadix’s Scientific Advisory Board is part of our continuing effort to enlist the best scientific minds in the industry to advise us on the development of novel plant technologies."

Dr. Chory received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in 1984 and was a postdoctoral fellow in the Genetics Department at Harvard Medical School. Her current research is focused on understanding of developmental pathways that involve the action of plant hormones. Dr. Chory has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the National Academy of Sciences Award for Initiatives in Research, The American Association of Plant Physiologists Charles Albert Schull Award, and The L'Oreal-UNESCO Helena Rubinstein Award for Women in Science.

Equity funding for Akkadix Corporation has come from venture capital investments by Bay City Capital Fund I, L.P, North American Nutrition and Agribusiness Fund, L.P. (which is also managed by Bay City Capital, LLC.) and the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council. Corporate Investors include Axys Pharmaceuticals, Inc and Forage Genetics, Inc.

Akkadix Corporation is a global agricultural biotechnology company that uses gene discovery, functional genomics, bioinformatics, plant breeding and other technologies for the discovery of novel plant traits which improve health and safety, increase production, lower costs, help preserve the environment and create new opportunities for agriculture.