And then there were five. Five is the final tally of San Diegans appointed to the 29-member Independent Citizens Oversight Committee, which will control $3 billion in research dollars for embryonic stem-cell research. The money will come from state bonds, authorized under Proposition 71.

The two latest local appointees are Tina Nova, president and chief executive of Genoptix Inc.; and Leon Thal, director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at UC San Diego. Their appointments, respectively by Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, were announced Monday. The other San Diegans on the committee are Richard Murphy, president of the Salk Institute; John C. Reed, president of the Burnham Institute, and Ed Holmes, dean of the UCSD School of Medicine.

Also Monday, the governor nominated Robert Klein II, Prop. 71 campaign chairman and Northern California developer, to head the panel. That position, as well as that of vice chair must be confirmed by the other 27 committee members.

Of the five San Diego appointees, Nova brings perhaps the most varied history of biotech expertise to the committee, which meets for the first time Friday.

Early in her career, Nova was a researcher at Hybritech Inc., San Diego's legendary first biotechnology company. Nova rose through the ranks to manage other researchers, impressing bosses such as David Kabakoff, who hired her in 1983 at Hybritech.

"She had good laboratory leadership skills. People liked to work for her and she was able to get a lot of productivity out of groups of people," said Kabakoff, now president, chairman and chief executive of Salmedix Inc., which is developing anticancer treatments. "She's got a good perspective on the merits of science and business and she's a terrific choice."

After leaving Hybritech, Nova became an entrepreneur, joining a biotech elite that still dominates the San Diego establishment. Famous Hybritech "alumni" still active include co-founders Howard Birndorf and Ivor Royston, Biogen Idec executive chairman William Rastetter, and David Hale, chief executive of Carlsbad's CancerVax,

Nova helped to found three local biotech companies, including Genoptix, which is developing tests to detect cancers and other diseases. She also became active in Biocom, a San Diego-based biotech and medical device trade group, and UCSD Connect, the university's business entrepreneurship program.

This spring, Biocom gave Nova its James McGraw Distinguished Contribution Awards for bringing together biotech leaders to help the industry as a whole.

"I think the combination of my skill sets are going to be really helpful," said Nova. "I have experience all the way from working with technology and turning it into a product."

Duane Roth, UCSD Connect's director, said much the same thing in praising the appointment.

"She's multifaceted," Roth said. "She has a tremendous background in science and in addition she has done more product development than most of us in the (biotech) community."

Thal's contribution is more focused, Roth said. As an expert in Alzheimer's disease, Roth said, Thal brings internationally recognized scientific skills to the committee. Alzheimer's is one of the main targets proposed for embryonic stem-cell research.

Like Kabakoff, Roth said, Nova's style of dealing with people gets results.

"Her leadership and interpersonal skills are going to be important when you're dealing with a committee of 29 of the brightest people in business and science," Roth said. "Someone needs to sit in the middle and broker a lot of technical discussions, and Tina is used to that."

Nova described her own reaction to the appointment as excitement mixed with some apprehension about the tight timeline for the committee to get the embryonic stem-cell research program under way. By Friday, the committee, now numbering 27, must add two more members to the list, a chairman and vice chairman.

Within two months, the committee is supposed to select a headquarters. It must then name working groups to determine guidelines for giving research grants, and hire a staff of up to 50 people to assist its work.

Racing to meet the Friday meeting deadline, state Treasurer Phil Angelides made five appointments Tuesday. They are: David Baltimore, a Nobel laureate who is president of the California Institute of Technology; Michael Friedman, president and chief executive of City of Hope near Los Angeles; Michael Goldberg, a board member of Redwood City-based Genomic Health; Francisco Prieto, president of the Sacramento-area chapter of the American Diabetes Association; and Janet Wright, a Chico-based cardiologist who speaks often on cardiovascular health issues.

"I'm honored to be even considered for this committee," Nova said.

Asked about how long it might take to see clinical trials of therapies from embryonic stem-cell research, if the research goes well. Nova for a moment appeared at a loss for words.

Her educated guess: "It could take anywhere from five to 15 years … the range is just huge."

Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at bfikes@nctimes.com or (760) 739-6641.