Health sciences and photonics company PerkinElmer Inc. of Waltham, Mass., announced today that it has hired John E. Sherwin, PhD, as director of laboratory operations for its genetic screening business. Sherwin's responsibilities include directing the growth of PerkinElmer Genetics Inc. and NTD Laboratories, the company's neonatal and prenatal service businesses. He brings more than 30 years of pediatric and perinatal laboratory medicine experience to his new position, including nearly 20 years directing laboratories at hospitals in Chicago and Fresno, Calif. He joins PerkinElmer from the state of California, where he most recently served as acting chief of the Genetic Disease Branch, responsible for the operation of the state's prenatal and newborn screening program. Before that, he was chief of the California Genetic Disease Laboratory for eight years. He has also held positions as senior technical director, general manager and chief operating officer of reference labs and has been a consultant to a variety of businesses and physician practices. Sherwin is a past president of both the American Association for Clinical Chemistry and the National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry, is active in the Association of Public Health Laboratories, and is a member of the governing council of the International Society for Newborn Screening. He holds a PhD in biological science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Arizona, Tucson.