OxyFile #417

Dr. James Lepock and Dr. Martin Petric Appointed to LifeTECH's 
Scientific Advisory Board


TORONTO, April 2 1997 - LifeTECH Corporation announced today that 
Dr. Jim Lepock and Dr. Martin Petric have been appointed to the 
Corporation's Scientific Advisory Board. The Scientific Advisory 
Board is a group of eminent scientists who advise LifeTECH on 
scientific strategy, review research progress and assist in the 
scientific development of the Sterinetics System. LifeTECH's 
Sterinetics system is the world's premier blood and biological 
fluid sterilization technology.

Mr. Walter J. Dermott, President and CEO, made the announcement 
saying: "The addition of Dr. Lepock and Dr. Petric will greatly 
advance the pace of our scientific progress. Dr. Lepock is a 
leading expert in the biophysics of cell membranes, proteins and 
cellular damage. His ongoing research into the effects of 
controlled oxidative stress on red blood cell membranes will be 
key to our understanding of viral inactivation mechanisms. Dr. 
Petric is an eminent Canadian virologist whose expertise will 
greatly enhance our understanding of viruses and their 
inactivation processes. The addition of these two new members to 
our Scientific Advisory Board will accelerate the development of 
our Sterinetics System, and our goal of making the global blood 
supply safe."

Dr. Lepock, Ph.D., is Chairman of the Department of Physics at the 
University of Waterloo. He earned his Ph.D. in Biophysics at the 
Pennsylvania State University, and served as Visiting Associate 
Professor at the University of North Carolina, Visiting Professor 
at the University of Texas Medical Branch, and Professor of 
Physics and Biology at the University of Waterloo. Dr. Lepock has 
been invited to address seventeen international symposiums during 
the last five years, and is extensively published in the areas of 
protein denaturation, protein structures and interactions.

Dr. Petric, Ph.D., is a Staff Virologist at The Hospital for Sick 
Children, Toronto, Ontario and Associate Professor of Microbiology 
at The University of Toronto. He earned his Ph.D. in Microbiology 
at the University of British Columbia, then completed a post 
doctoral fellowship in Microbiology. Dr. Petric has served as a 
Visiting Assistant Professor in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at 
The John Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. A member of the 
Canadian College of Microbiologists, the Canadian Association for 
Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, and the American 
Society for Microbiology, Dr. Petric has extensively published in 
the areas of virus structure, viral diseases, viral serology and 
verocytotoxins.