Dr. J. J. Marr has held positions in academic medicine and biochemistry; as Director of Divisions of Infectious Diseases; Vice Chairman, Department of Medicine; and Professor of Medicine, Biochemistry and Microbiology at Washington University, St. Louis University and the University of Colorado. Subsequently, he was Senior Vice Presidnt for Drug Discovery at Searle Pharmaceuticals, acted as a consultant to the National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization, and now holds the position of Vice President for Research and Development/Chief Scientific Officer, Ribozyme Pharmaceuticals, Inc.