Jennifer Cochran, PhD, has been appointed chair of Stanfords Department of Bioengineering, which is jointly operated by the School of Medicine and School of Engineering. Her five-year term begins Sept. 1.

This department has an amazing energy due in no small part to its faculty, students and staff, said Cochran, associate professor of bioengineering. These individuals nearly 500 of them, in all have an unwavering commitment to research, learning and service, and they exude a spirit of collegiality and collaboration that permeates our department and the broader Stanford community.

Cochrans research is interdisciplinary, integrating chemistry, engineering and biophysics. Her laboratory focuses on protein-based drug discovery for applications including oncology and regenerative medicine, and the development of new technology for high-throughput protein analysis and engineering.

In addition to being a superb scholar and educator and a proponent of deeper connections with Silicon Valleys burgeoning biotechnology activities, Jennifer is an enthusiastic, dynamic individual who will bring exciting leadership to the department and be a key contributor to the schools of Engineering and Medicine, Lloyd Minor, MD, dean of the School of Medicine, and Jennifer Widom, PhD, dean of the School of Engineering, said in a joint statement.

Cochran will succeed Norbert Pelc, ScD, professor of bioengineering, who has chaired the department since 2012. Norberts vision and leadership has brought the department to new heights, Minor and Widom said. The remarkable strength of our still relatively new Bioengineering Department reflects Norberts tireless work and deep dedication.

Cochran earned a PhD in biological chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2001. After a postdoctoral fellowship at MIT in biological engineering, she arrived at Stanford in 2005 as an assistant professor of bioengineering. In 2012,she was promoted to associate professor.She also advises cancer biology and biophysics graduate students and serves as director of the Stanford National Institutes of Health Biotechnology Predoctoral Training Program and as co-director of the Stanford National Institute of Standards and Technology Predoctoral Training Program.

Continue reading here:
Jennifer Cochran appointed chair of bioengineering - Stanford Medical Center Report