The Rockefeller University has announced the election of Marc Tessier-Lavigne, of San Francisco-based biotechnology firm Genentech, as its tenth president – the first to be chosen from industry rather than academia. He succeeds Nobel laureate Paul Nurse, president since 2003, who will return to Britain to become president of the Royal Society.

Tessier-Lavigne, an expert in brain development, is currently executive vice president and chief scientific officer at Genentech, where he directs around 1,400 researchers developing novel drugs for cancer, immune disorders, infectious diseases and neurodegenerative diseases.

Genentech is best-known as the developer or co-developer of cancer drugs Avastin, Rituxan and Herceptin. Alongside the drug development arm of the company, Genentech maintains an active basic research laboratory investigating the mechanisms of brain development and repair.

Tessier-Lavigne is the first member of Genentech’s senior research staff to leave the company since its acquisition by pharmaceuticals giant Roche in 2009. The takeover led to speculation about Genentech’s future. Then, last week, Roche announced a review of its operations, aiming to cut costs.

However, Tessier-Lavigne denied that his decision to leave Genentech was related to the takeover, telling The New York Times that his departure “has nothing to do with the merger”.

Russell Carson, a partner at private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson and Stowe, who led the search for Rockefeller’s new president, said that Tessier-Lavigne was the board’s first choice, praising his youth (he’s 50), energy and scientific credentials.

Tessier-Lavine was born in Trenton, Canada. He received a B.Sc. in physics from McGill University, followed by a B.A. in philosophy and physiology from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He then went on to complete a Ph.D. in physiology at University College London, and postdoctoral work at the MRC Developmental Neurobiology Unit in London and at Columbia University. He has worked at the University of California and Stanford University. He first joined Genentech in 2003, rising to his current position in 2009. He will assume the post at Rockefeller University in March of next year.