Dr. Richard P. Woychik, senior research scientist with the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), has been named head of the Mammalian Genetics and Developmental Biology section in ORNL's Biology Division.
Woychik succeeds Liane B. Russell, who led the section for almost 20 years before she asked to be relieved of administrative responsibilities in order to concentrate on her research work.
Before coming to ORNL, Woychik did research work in the Genetics Department of Boston's Harvard Medical School and, earlier, at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, where he earned his doctorate in biochemistry and molecular biology. His undergraduate degree was awarded by the University of Wisconsin. He is a native of Wisconsin.
Woychik is active in both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.
He has participated in several national and international scientific committees concerning genetic, transgenic, mutation and toxicology research. Currently, he is working with the International Study Group for Renal Inherited Disease. Woychik has lectured across the nation, at technical workshops and conferences, on these and related research topics. He is the author of more than 40 scientific publications.
Woychik, his wife, Janice, and son, Alexander, live in Knoxville.
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory, one of the Department of Energy's multiprogram national research and development facilities, is managed by Martin Marietta Energy Systems, which also manages the Oak Ridge K-25 Site and the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant.