SUBJECT:

New Faculty Director for Postdoctoral Scholar Education and Training

I am pleased to announce that Mark Lawson, Ph.D., professor of reproductive medicine and chair of the Embryonic Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee, has joined the Office of Research Affairs as the Faculty Director for Postdoctoral Scholar Education and Training.

As part of his duties in this role Mark will evaluate current postdoctoral education and training programs and develop long-term strategies that advance career development and opportunities for UC San Diego postdoctoral scholars.

In addition, he will work closely with faculty, postdocs, and campus partners to implement improved mentoring practices, standardize training opportunities and promote diversity in our postdoctoral ranks; and promote and facilitate applications for training grants and individual postdoctoral fellowships.

Mark brings an extensive background in postdoctoral training to this role. He is director of the UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program; Southern California Liaison for the Ford Foundation/National Academies fellowship office; and a member of the NIH/NIDDK Network of Minority Health Research Investigators.

He has served as co-chair of the Endocrine Society’s Training and Career Development Core Committee and, as a member of the Minority Affairs Committee, where he focused on support of trainees from the graduate level through promotion and tenure and on increasing diversity in the biomedical sciences.

Mark’s work with the UC Office of the President provides him with the experience and insight into the broad issues of academic success and diversity that affect all campuses within the UC system. Through his work as a program director and advisor for two NIH-funded national career-development programs – one of which he co-directs – he has gained directly applicable experience in forming partnerships among institutions to support and mentor students as they advance through their graduate, postdoctoral, and early faculty career training.

Mark is uniquely qualified for this key position and I invite you to join me in welcoming him to the Office of Research Affairs.

Sandra A. Brown Vice Chancellor for Research