Dr. Gregory Prince to present on medical research at President’s Colleagues meeting
Dr. Gregory Prince to present on medical research at President’s Colleagues meeting
Launching the President’s Colleagues of Dixie State University meeting series for the Fall 2018 semester, Dixie alumnus Dr. Gregory Prince will speak on his life’s work in medical research.
Prince will present “Half a Century, Three Careers” at noon on Oct. 1 in Lecture Hall 156 of Dixie State’s Russell C. Taylor Health Science Center, located on the Dixie Regional Medical Center campus at 1526 East Medical Center Drive. The meeting is free and open to the public.
In his President’s Colleagues presentation, Prince will discuss his research of viruses, particularly RSV, his role in Soft Cell Biological Research and his dedication to advancing solutions for adults with autism.
Prince discovered his interest in medical research after graduating as valedictorian from both Dixie College in 1967 and the University of California, Los Angeles School of Dentistry in 1973 and went on to earn a doctorate in pathology from UCLA in 1975. He began his 15-year career in medical research at the National Institutes of Health. His research focused on RSV, and in1987, he and two pediatricians founded Virion Systems, Inc., to commercialize his discoveries in the field. Those discoveries led to the development of Synagis, a drug that is now given to a quarter-million premature infants throughout the world each winter.
Most recently, Prince has shifted his emphasis from viruses to bacteria, and serves as chief scientific officer of Soft Cell, a St. George-based biotech startup with the unique ability to culture and study L-form bacteria for long-term research.
Prince’s passion, however, is autism. He and his wife, JaLynn Prince, founded the Madison House Autism Foundation, named for their son. The foundation finds and develops solutions to the challenges adults with autism face and creates awareness of the lifespan challenges autistic adults face.
In addition to his medical research, Prince maintains a strong commitment to higher education, currently serving as the chairman of the National Advisory Council of Dixie State University, chairman of the University of Utah School of Dentistry Advisory Board, and a member of the National Presidential Advisory Board of Utah Valley University and the Board of Governors of Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.
The President’s Colleagues of DSU, established more than 20 years ago by former DSU President Douglas Alder, is a group of retired professors and other professionals who live mostly in the Washington County area. Alder, who also started DSU’s Honors Program, organized the group as a way to increase academic activities on campus.
