Richard H. Baltz

Richard H. Baltz, Ph.D., joined MicroMGx as a Science/Industry Advisor in March of 2021. Dr. Baltz received a B.S. degree in Microbiology from The Ohio State University and Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

After completing Postdoctoral research at the University of Illinois, Dr. Baltz joined Eli Lilly and Company in 1974. At Lilly, he worked on projects directed at genetic manipulation of secondary metabolite production in actinomycetes, and expression of human peptides in Escherichia coli and other microorganisms. He led the Molecular Genetics department in the 1980s, and helped establish Lilly as a world leader in genetic engineering of industrial actinomycetes. His group developed molecular genetic tools in common use today, and were the first to generate novel macrolide, glycopeptide and beta-lactam antibiotics by genetic engineering.

Dr. Baltz retired from Lilly in 1998, and founded CognoGen Biotechnology Consulting. He consulted for several biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and agrichemical companies, then joined Cubist Pharmaceuticals in 2001 to help launch daptomycin, and to head the Natural Products group. His group developed genetic engineering methods and specialized Streptomyces hosts to produce novel lipopeptide antibiotics related to daptomycin by combinatorial biosynthesis. He retired from Cubist in 2009, reactivated CognoGen, and currently consults in the area of natural products. He is Reviews Editor for the Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology, and Section Editor for the Journal of Antibiotics.

Dr. Baltz is past president and a fellow of the Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology. He has presented his work in over 250 publications, book chapters, and abstracts, and has 38 issued US patents.