PHILNewswise — ADELPHIA (May 3, 2018) – Lee O’Neill, MBA, has been appointed as the new Director for Finance & Administrative Services for the Monell Chemical Senses Center, effective May 1, 2018.

O’Neill comes to Monell with extensive experience in financial administration in the nonprofit and business sectors. During his 14 years at the American Friends Service Committee, he provided financial and organizational leadership as Chief Financial Officer. Before that, he spent 18 years at Boston University’s 660 Corporation, rising through business and finance positions to become Vice President for Finance and Administration.

At Monell, O’Neill will oversee and direct the Center’s financial operations, including accounting, financial reporting, treasury, internal audit, risk management, payroll, and tax, grant, and regulatory compliance. He also will have oversight of central administrative functions, including Information Technology, Human Resources, and Facilities, and the Center’s research grants and contracts office. He is expected to be elected Treasurer by the Monell Center Board of Directors at their June meeting.

O’Neill attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Clark University, and received his MBA from Drexel University. He succeeds John K.T. Tran, MS, CRA, who is retiring after serving 30 years as Monell’s Finance Director.

“Monell is doubly fortunate in our ability to recruit accomplished strategic financial leaders such as John Tran and now Lee O’Neill to guide and grow our financial objectives,” said Robert F. Margolskee, MD, PhD, Director and President of the Monell Center. “We thank John for his decades of service helping us to ensure our financial stability and safeguard our research mission, and welcome Lee as we confidently move forward into Monell’s next half-century of cutting-edge basic, clinical, and translational research.”

The Monell Chemical Senses Center is an independent nonprofit basic research institute based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 and now celebrating its 50th anniversary, Monell advances scientific understanding of the mechanisms and functions of taste and smell to benefit human health and well-being. Using an interdisciplinary approach, scientists collaborate in the programmatic areas of sensation and perception; neuroscience and molecular biology; environmental and occupational health; nutrition and appetite; health and well-being; development, aging and regeneration; and chemical ecology and communication. For more information about Monell, visit www.monell.org.