News

Posted On: 04/06/2005

S-P Research Institute Head Named to N.J. High-Tech Hall of Fame

Cecil B. Pickett, Ph.D., senior vice president, Schering-Plough Corp., and president, Schering-Plough Research Institute, was chosen by the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey (HINJ) as its pharmaceutical/medical technology research nominee for the New Jersey High-Tech Hall of Fame. The award honors innovators in life science and high technology industries.

The Induction Dinner is cosponsored by HINJ, an association of global pharmaceutical and medical technology companies in New Jersey; the Biotechnology Council of New Jersey; and AeA, Advancing the Business of Technology, a nationwide trade association that represents all segments of the technology industry. The event honors leaders in government, business, research and education who have contributed significantly to the growth and prosperity of the biotechnology, high technology and pharmaceutical industries. This year's dinner will take place on Thursday, April 21, 2005, at the Woodbridge Hilton in Iselin, N.J.

Pickett was recently named to Black Enterprise magazine's list of the "75 Most Powerful Blacks in Corporate America" and by U.S. Black Engineer & Information Technology magazine as one of the "50 Most Important Blacks in Technology."

A member of the Schering-Plough Executive Management Team (EMT), Pickett is responsible for the planning, management and oversight of Schering-Plough's research and development programs across all therapeutic categories. He joined Schering-Plough in 1993 as executive vice president of discovery research. Previously, Pickett served as senior vice president, basic research, at Merck Research Laboratories. He held various positions of increasing responsibility during his 15-year tenure at Merck in the company's Rahway, N.J., Montreal, Canada, and West Point, Pa., locations.

Pickett has been widely published in leading scientific journals and has been a frequent speaker at major scientific conferences and symposia. Among his many professional activities, he has served as a member of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Science Board, the Advisory Committee to the Director of the National Institutes of Health and The National Cancer Policy Board of the Institute of Medicine. He currently serves as a member of The National Academies Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy and The Institute of Medicine's Forum on Drug Discovery, Development and Translation. He is also an elected member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science.

A graduate of California State University, Hayward, Calif., Pickett earned his Ph.D. in cell biology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).