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DR. ROBERT "BOB" THAYER

President & CEO, Genesis Genomics, a biotechnology company spun off from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay

Age: 50-something

Place of Residence: Thunder Bay

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Q Do you have a favourite motto to live by?

"I felt sorry for myself because I had no shoes, until I saw a man who had no feet.

"I used to run that through my mind when things got tough or feeling a bit down about something. I used to repeat it two or three times a day to give me a new perspective on things."

Q What's the biggest fish you've ever caught?

"About a 17-pound pike in a lake in northwestern Ontario about 25 years ago.

"I love fishing, I just never get a chance to do it. I live right on Lake Superior and never get a chance to fish."

Q What significant or historicall figure--living or dead--should be cloned?

"Mother Theresa. She was such an inspiration. Such a selfless individual, very humble, didn't seek publicity and did a tremendous amount of work without receiving millions of dollars. Just very committed to helping the poor.

"My other person is Napoleon Bonaparte. He is misunderstood by history. When you look at what he accomplished, not on the battlefield, but in law and so many areas, he was an incredibly brilliant individual. He was a bit of power monger but in other areas he was an incredible person before his time with Napoleanic law in France."

Q Where do you see your company's research in mitochondrial DNA going in 10 years' time?

"Without question, we'd like to be the leading mitrochondrial DNA company in North America with a significant international presence, having another company likely in the U.K., and beimg heavily involved in gene expression (a method whereby the cell produces...