Dear Members of the UCSF Community,

I am writing to share some exciting news with you regarding Ron Vale, PhD, professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology. Ron has been named executive director of the Janelia Research Campus of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), in Ashburn, Virginia, and an HHMI vice president. He will begin this new post in early 2020 and will continue to hold a faculty appointment at UCSF.

A gifted and versatile researcher, Ron has made fundamental contributions to biology and is a champion of openness and clarity in communicating research, whether among scientists themselves or between scientists and the general public. We are privileged to count him as a colleague, and he is an ideal choice to lead the world-class scientific enterprise at Janelia.

For his seminal research on the molecular motors known as kinesin and dynein, Ron has received some of the most prestigious prizes in biomedical research, including the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award and the Shaw Prize in Life Sciences and Medicine.

Our faculty are world-renowned, and their accomplishments are a source of great pride for the university. UCSF is known for attracting great leaders, but just as importantly for celebrating those who embark on a new chapter.

Please join me in congratulating Ron Vale on his remarkable achievements and in sending him our best wishes for continued success.

Read more online about Ron’s career at UCSF and his HHMI appointment.

Sincerely,

Sam Hawgood, MBBS
Chancellor
Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Distinguished Professor