BREWER – The Maine Institute for Human Genetics and Health has announced the appointment of two new biomedical researchers. Both scientists will have faculty appointments with the University of Maine Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.

Roger Phipps will be the first department head named at the research institute and will build a research team in bone genomics and cancer. Before coming to Maine,

Phipps was a senior principal scientist at Procter & Gamble for 20 years, studying inflammatory and bone diseases. Phipps will lead a team of six scientists in studying genetic diseases that affect bone, such as neurofibromatosis and certain cancers, to develop diagnostics for earlier detection and more effective treatment.

Dr. Xiong Li comes to the institute from Indiana University School of Medicine, where he was a molecular and cell biologist, developing methods to treat the spread of prostate cancer using gene therapy. In Maine, Li will study the metastasis of breast, lung and prostate cancers.

“The arrival of Drs. Phipps and Li signals an important advance in the development of the institute,” Janet Hock, the institute’s director, said in a statement.

“This represents a step forward in the vision established by [institute partners] Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems, Eastern Maine Medical Center, The Jackson Laboratory and the University of Maine to bring translational research to eastern Maine and speed the application of research discoveries to clinical use.”

A member of EMHS, the Maine Institute for Human Genetics and Health has a special focus on cancer and chronic disease in rural areas.