Hudson Control Group, Inc., a leader in microplate automation, robotics and customized software-driven solutions, recently announced Dr. Alan H. Katz has joined the company as Chief Scientific Officer. With more than 25 years of experience in pharmaceutical and biological research, Dr.Katz will strengthen and define Hudson's application and technical operations along with providing insight into new product and market development.

Dr. Katz obtained his undergraduate degree in chemistry at SUNY Buffalo where he carried out organic synthesis of natural products under Prof. Peter T. Lansbury. He obtained a Ph.D. in Synthetic Organic Chemistry at Princeton University in 1983 working for Prof. E. C. Taylor. In his research, he developed new synthetic transformations using arylthallium(III)bistrifluoroacetates and applied it to an efficient route to benoxaprofin, a commercial anti-inflammatory agent. Dr. Katz joined Wyeth Research (formally Ayerst Research) where his work on anti-inflammatory compounds resulted in the discovery of the potent analgesic Pemedolac, which was selected for clinical trials. In 1986, Dr. Katz became the leader of the computational chemistry and drug design group in Princeton and remained in that role for over 20 years, with a main focus in the design of new neuroscience drugs. In addition to managing the group, he supported many projects including serotonin reuptake, dopaminergics, renin, PTP-1B, MurB, and various potassium channels. Dr. Katz has over 15 US patents, is published in many scientific journals and has presented his work in numerous conferences.

"We are pleased to have a person of Alan's capability and experience join our team." stated Phil Farrelly, President of Hudson Control Group. "Alan's market knowledge will enable us to continue to bring new and innovative automated solutions to our customers."