Brian Strahl, PhD, has been named Interim Chair of the UNC School of Medicine’s Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. Strahl has served as Vice Chair of the Department since 2016.
Leslie Parise, PhD, who served as Chair since 2006, has been appointed Dean of the University of Vermont’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Strahl has been a member of the UNC School of Medicine faculty since 2001. His lab is on the forefront of understanding how histones and their chemical modifications contribute to human biology and disease. His lab pioneered some of the key technology used to define how chromatin-associated proteins bind to histones, and is currently engaged in several multidisciplinary projects across UNC to understand how these proteins contribute to the organization and function of our genome. Since 2015, he has led UNC’s Program on Chromatin and Epigenetics and also is a member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
His research accomplishments have been celebrated through numerous awards, including selection as an Oliver Smithies Scholar in 2018. Strahl’s work as a teacher and mentor for numerous students and postdocs was recognized in 2019 with UNC’s Excellence in Basic Science Mentoring Award.
Strahl will begin work as Interim Chair effective May 18.
News courtesy of Jamie Williams, Executive Communications Manager at UNC Health Communications, April 9, 2020.