Kenneth Chahine, PhD, JD was appointed president and chief executive officer and a director of the Company in March 2004. Dr. Chahine has served as Avigen's chief operating officer since 2002, and as vice president, business development and intellectual property since 1998. Prior to joining Avigen, he worked at the patent law firm of Madson & Metcalf PC in Salt Lake City from 1994 to 1998. From 1992 to 1993, Dr. Chahine worked as a research scientist at Parke-Davis Pharmaceuticals and held another research scientist post at the University of Utah Department of Human Genetics from 1994 to 1996. Dr. Chahine also served as the western regional news and legal correspondent for Nature Biotechnology for many years. Dr. Chahine holds a JD from the University of Utah and a PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Michigan.