ORANGE, Calif. – Former University of Maine President Paul H. Silverman, 79, died Thursday night at the University of California-Irvine Medical Center from complications of a bone marrow transplant.

A native of Minneapolis, Minn., Silverman served as UMaine’s 13th president, from Aug. 1980 to March 1, 1984. His tenure was marked by controversy over his attempts to bring attention to chronic funding shortages at the Orono campus.

After resigning from UMaine, he became a professor of developmental and cell biology at UC-Irvine where he later served as associate chancellor.

Silverman helped establish the first human genome center in 1987 at UC-Berkeley and lobbied in Washington as one of the earliest advocates of the Human Genome Project, which sought to map the human genetic code. Because of his concerns with the social implications of the project, he was elected a fellow of the Hastings Center for Bioethics.

He later became director of the University of California Systemwide Biotechnology Research and Education Program.

As a young researcher, Silverman worked for several years to develop a malaria vaccine. His work took him to Israel, England, Scotland and Australia. The vaccine eventually tested successfully.

Frustrated by his dealings with pharmaceutical companies, he corresponded with Jonas Salk, who successfully produced the polio vaccine. It was Salk who advised Silverman to shift his focus from research to administration.

Before coming to UMaine, Silverman held administrative positions at the State University of New York, the University of New Mexico and the University of Illinois.

A memorial will be held at Pacific View Memorial Park, 3500 Pacific View Drive, Corona del Mar, at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.