Robert Braun PhD, New Jackson Laboratory Associate Director and Research Chair
JAX® NOTES Issue 507, Fall 2007
The Jackson Laboratory has selected Robert Braun PhD, a distinguished scientist in the field of reproductive genetics, as the new Associate Director and Chair for Research. Dr. Braun joins the Laboratory from the University of Washington School of Medicine, where he began working as a postdoctoral fellow in 1986 and now serves as professor of genome sciences and as director and co-director of two different programs for reproductive biology research. He earned his undergraduate degree in molecular, cellular and developmental biology, chemistry, and mathematics at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and his PhD at the Tufts University School of Medicine, Department of Microbiology. The recipient of many honors and awards, Dr. Braun has also been a visiting scientist at the Medical Research Council in England and, in 2001-2002, at The Jackson Laboratory.
The post of Associate Director and Chair for Research was established as part of a major research expansion plan, whereby The Jackson Laboratory expects to add another 8 research groups over the next 3-5 years. Dr. Braun's appointment follows an international search, during which time Jackson Laboratory Senior Staff Scientist Thomas Gridley PhD held the position. The Laboratory currently has 38 principal investigators (each with their own research group) studying a wide range of human diseases and disorders, development, and aging. Its external research funding totals more than $60 million a year.
Jackson Laboratory Director, Rick Woychik PhD, describes Dr. Braun as "an internationally prominent scientist with the highest research credentials. He has a genuine interest in the research at the Laboratory and is exceptionally well qualified to provide leadership to the scientific staff and to serve on the senior management team. He's also a great communicator, and I believe he's going to fit in very well with our Laboratory community."
This article was adapted from a May 21, 2007, Jackson Laboratory press release.
