After earning a Master of Science degree in our college’s Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology in 1979, Pete enrolled in the combined DVM/PhD program in the College of Veterinary Medicine. He received his DVM degree in 1984 and his PhD in retro virology and immunology in 1986. He completed residency training in veterinary pathology at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in 1988 and served as a post-doctoral fellow at the National Cancer Institute during this time.
Throughout the late 1980’s and 1990’s, Dr. Nara served in various leadership positions at the National Cancer Institute. In 1997, he co-founded Biological Mimetics Incorporated (BMI) and currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of this corporation.
Pete is a highly sought-after consultant in the biotechnology community and has served on many scientific advisory committees and task forces. He holds an endowed entrepreneurial chair at Iowa State University, and in 2011 was elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His scientific areas of interest are novel mechanisms of virulence, pathogenesis, and host adaptation to infectious diseases and cancer and development of innovative approaches to diagnostic tests, vaccines, and treatment.
Dr. Nara has been an invited lecturer and keynote speaker at numerous national and international scientific conferences. He holds eight patents on technology related to retro viruses and tumor biology and is involved in development of 10 additional provisional patents. His scientific research funding has totaled more than $6 million in grants from the National Institute of Health, Department of Defense and other agencies. He is an author on more than 125 scientific publications and 61 book chapters and reviews.
For his dedication to and success in basic and translational research as well as his entrepreneurial spirit, we are pleased to recognize Dr. Peter Nara as a Distinguished Alumnus of the College of Veterinary Medicine.
