Pennington Biomedical Researcher Center Announces New Communications Director

For more information, contact our Media Relations Manager, Ted Griggs, 225-763-2862 or our Communications Director, Lisa Stansbury, at 225-763-2978. Our news email box is also available at news@pbrc.edu.

Released: Monday, March 31, 2014

BATON ROUGE, LA - Pennington Biomedical Research Center today announced the hiring of Alisha Prather as director of their communications and marketing team. 

Alisha Prather
Director of Communications

Prather is a communications professional with extensive experience in the government, political, science and health communication arenas. 

"We're thrilled to bring Alisha back home to Louisiana," said executive director William Cefalu, MD. "Her diverse communications background and love for this state and the health of our people uniquely positions her for this important role.  Pennington Biomedical is a world-renowned center for scientific discovery and Alisha is going to help us connect our science to our local, national and international communities."

As director of communications, Prather will work with the center's distinguished team of scientists to maximize external and internal messaging, community outreach and engagement. 

Prather began her career in Washington, DC where she spent more than a decade as a communications director on Capitol Hill working for Members of Congress, influential Congressional coalitions, and for the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology.  Most recently, she served as director of strategic initiatives and communications for the Galveston National Laboratory at the University of Texas Medical Branch. In this role, she directed a multifaceted communications, marketing and outreach program for the only biosafety level four infectious diseases research laboratory located on an academic campus in the United States.  Prather is a native of Crowley, Louisiana.  She received an undergraduate degree from Baylor University and a master's degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

To contact Pennington Biomedical's communications department call 225-763-2750 or email news@pbrc.edu.

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The Pennington Biomedical Research Center is at the forefront of medical discovery as it relates to understanding the triggers of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and dementia. It is a campus of Louisiana State University and conducts basic, clinical and population research. The research enterprise at Pennington Biomedical includes approximately 80 faculty and more than 25 post-doctoral fellows who comprise a network of 44 laboratories supported by lab technicians, nurses, dietitians, and support personnel, and 13 highly specialized core service facilities. Pennington Biomedical's more than 500 employees perform research activities in state-of-the-art facilities on the 222-acre campus located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.