SAN FRANCISCO &#8212 A renowned Australian scientist was named to run California’s $3 billion stem cell agency, the nation’s biggest financial backer of human embryonic research.

The committee that oversees the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine voted Friday at a meeting in Los Angeles to appoint Alan Trounsoun the institute’s new president.

“Alan is a world-class scientist,” said Dr. George Daley, a Harvard University researcher and president of the International Society for Stem Cell Research. “His own scientific work is going to take a secondary role.”

Trounson earned undergraduate degrees from the University of New South Wales in Sydney and his doctorate in embryology from Sydney University in 1974. He is currently director of Monash University’s stem cell program in Melbourne.

He has also launched eight biotechnology companies.