Fernando Pardo-Manuel de Villena, PhD, will take over July 1 from Terry Magnuson, PhD, who will become the vice chancellor for research at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Fernando Pardo-Manuel de Villena, professor of genetics and associate chair for research, will become interim chair of the Department of Genetics effective July 1. He will oversee the department’s research enterprise – including multiple dedicated research centers – while also coordinating the educational programs aimed at training the next generation of scientists. He takes over the role from Terry Magnuson, PhD, who was recently named Vice Chancellor for Research at UNC-Chapel Hill.
A renowned researcher who isn’t afraid to challenge accepted norms, Pardo-Manuel de Villena attracted attention for recent work that challenged both Darwin’s theory of natural selection and Mendel’s law of segregation.