George Poste

GEORGE POSTE 
Regents’ Professor and Del E. Webb Chair
in Health Innovation
Chief Scientist, Complex Adaptive Systems Initiative 
[email protected]
(480) 965-4800

Dr. George Poste, PhD, DVM is the Del E. Webb Professor of Health Innovation and Chief Scientist at The Complex Adaptive Systems Initiative (CASI) at Arizona State University (ASU) (http://www.casi.asu.edu). This program integrates research in genomics, synthetic biology and high-performance computing to study the altered regulation of molecular networks in human diseases to develop new diagnostic tests for precision medicine and the remote monitoring of health status using miniaturized body sensors and mobile devices. He assumed this post in 2009. 

From 2003 to 2009 he directed and built The Biodesign Institute at ASU (https://biodesign.asu.edu/). He has published more than 400 research papers and edited 14 books on pharmaceutical technologies, cancer and infectious diseases. He has received honorary degrees in science, law and medicine and was awarded the rank of Commander of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II for his contributions to research and international security.

From 1992 to 1999, he was Chief Science and Technology Officer and President, R&D, of SmithKline Beecham (SB) (now GlaxoSmithKline). During his tenure at SB, he was associated with the successful registration of multiple drug, vaccine and diagnostic products. In 2004 he was named “R&D Scientist of the Year” by R&D Magazine, he received the Einstein award from the Global Business Leadership Council (2006), the Scrip Lifetime Achievement award voted by the leadership of the global pharmaceutical industry (2009), the Arizona Bioindustry Association Pioneer Award (2016) and the Personalized Medicine Coalition Leadership Award 2025. He was honored in 1999 by HM Queen Elizabeth II as a Commander of the British Empire for his contributions to international security.

He is a Fellow of the U.K. Royal Society, the Royal College of Pathologists, the U.K. Academy of Medicine and The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), a member of the Council for Foreign Relations, the U.S. Defense Science Board and The National Academies Forum of Microbial Threats and the Forum on Global Health. He serves on several additional U.S. government panels related to biosecurity and national competitiveness including the US Bipartisan Commission on BioDefense. His areas of expertise in biosecurity focus on zoonotic emerging infectious diseases, dual-use research in biotechnology and synthetic biology and new diagnostic systems for global biosurveillance.

He has published more than 400 research papers and has edited 14 books on pharmaceutical technologies and oncology.