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  Bruce Holm

By ELLEN GOLDBAUM

Published: September 23, 2010

Bruce A. Holm has been named senior vice provost in the Office of the Vice President for Research, Provost Satish K. Tripathi has announced.

Holm is SUNY Distinguished Professor in the departments of Pediatrics, Gynecology-Obstetrics, and Pharmacology and Toxicology in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

“Dr. Holm’s exceptional accomplishments as a scholar-entrepreneur, coupled with his keen ability to navigate the federal and state research funding environment, will significantly advance UB’s overall research agenda,” Tripathi said.

“As executive director of UB’s New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, Bruce propelled the center forward as a source of scientific discoveries and as a catalyst for economic development in Western New York,” he added. “His efforts have helped build the Center of Excellence into one of New York State’s premier life sciences research centers.”

Alexander N. Cartwright, interim vice president for research, said that Holm’s expertise as a scientist, entrepreneur and administrator will be extremely valuable to UB’s research enterprise.

“As he has demonstrated through the example of his own career, Bruce truly understands, and is deeply committed to, the value of harnessing research to improve peoples’ lives,” Cartwright said.

In 2008, Holm and UB colleague Edmund Egan were awarded the UB Faculty Entrepreneur Award for commercializing a lung surfactant they developed to prevent respiratory distress in premature babies, which in some cases can be fatal. The UB award recognizes faculty who demonstrate the vision and perseverance to translate their discoveries and inventions into products that save lives, relieve suffering or otherwise improve the well-being of individuals and communities.

The surfactant is used to treat infants nationwide. Currently, their Buffalo-based company, ONY Inc, is moving forward with a new surfactant that could represent a significant advance for adults who suffer from acute and dangerous episodes of respiratory failure.

In 2009, Holm’s successes were recognized by the Genesee County Economic Development Center, which dedicated the Dr. Bruce A. Holm Upstate MedTech Centre in the Upstate MedTech Park in Batavia. Holm is a former Batavia resident. The MedTech Centre is a 43,000-square-foot facility housing the offices of the Economic Development Center, Genesee Community College’s nursing program and United Memorial Center’s physical and occupational therapy programs, as well as space for commercialization of companies.

Holm, a UB faculty member since 1989, also has served as senior associate dean in the UB medical school and the senior associate vice president for health affairs.