Anjon Audhya becomes senior associate dean for basic research, biotechnology, and graduate studies

He will serve as the school’s leader for strategic vision and administrative oversight of basic research practices and policies, graduate programs and industry partnerships. His appointment began on Dec. 1, 2021.

Audhya leads research program development and provides oversight of the school’s research programs, centers and institutes, such as the Center for Human Genomics and Precision Medicine, Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute and Program for Advanced Cell Therapy.

In this role, he will manage and guide the school’s partnerships and engagement with internal and external organizations focused on research and development, entrepreneurship and startup technologies, the biomedical workforce and state laboratories. These include entities on campus such as the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, as well as external and industry groups such as BioForward.

“This is an amazing opportunity, and I am extremely excited to take on this leadership role in support of the School of Medicine and Public Health,” Audhya says. “By leveraging our newly developed Basic Sciences Strategic plan, one of my major goals is to facilitate growth of research programming across the school via enhanced collaboration, particularly at the interface between basic and translational science.”

Audhya is a professor of biomolecular chemistry and joined the faculty in 2008. Since 2019, he has served as associate dean for basic research. He successfully led the establishment of several research core facilities that bring valuable equipment and infrastructure to campus and help scientists perform their work effectively and efficiently. In this new role, he will provide administrative management of school facilities, spaces and research cores.

As the leader of the school’s Office of Basic Research, Biotechnology and Graduate Studies, he oversees its programs and initiatives focused on mentoring and assisting faculty and students with finding research funding, managing research program administration, and navigating technology transfer.

“Dr. Audhya’s outstanding leadership skills, coupled with his own impressive accomplishments as a scientist and mentor, provide the perfect platform for his new senior leadership position” says Robert N. Golden, MD, dean of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. “I look forward to his innovative approaches and partnership in advancing our academic missions.”