On July 1st, MCB faculty Rachelle Gaudet will succeed Sean Eddy as department chair.
“Rachelle will be an outstanding chair for MCB,” Eddy says. “She and I share a lot of common vision for MCB’s future, and I’m expecting the transition to MCB’s Gaudet era to be seamless. I’m wishing her smooth sailing and no pandemics.”
Gaudet is looking forward to her time as chair. “I’m honored to have been entrusted with the responsibility to chair the department for the next three years,” she says.” My goal is to support and strengthen our community of exceptional students, postdocs, and faculty, and wonderful and dedicated staff, so that we all can do our very best to fulfill our research and educational missions.”
She also expressed gratitude toward Eddy for his leadership during turbulent times. “I want to thank Sean for his thoughtful leadership focused on scientific excellence, steering us through the worst of the pandemic and revitalizing the community as soon and fast as it has been safe to do so,” Gaudet says. “I’m grateful to be able to count on his support and guidance to make this a smooth transition.”
In 1998, Gaudet joined MCB as a postdoctoral fellow in Don Wiley’s Lab. She then became an assistant professor in 2002 and received tenure in 2010. Her lab investigates questions in structural biology, and teaching and outreach have long been a priority for the group.
MCB Chairs typically serve three-year terms and are always chosen from the pool of faculty. Prior MCB Chairs have been Rich Losick, Douglas Melton, Andrew McMahon, Andrew Murray, Catherine Dulac (who served two full terms), Alex Schier, Venki Murthy, and Sean Eddy.
“As Executive Director, I’ve had the privilege to support and partner with three Chairs of MCB including Alex Schier, Venki Murthy, and Sean Eddy–all who have been extremely committed to making MCB a world class department with a profound care for the people who make up the community,” says MCB Executive Director Jessica Manning. “I am excited to partner up with incoming Chair, Rachelle Gaudet because I firmly believe that she will continue to strengthen the department and the community with her thoughtfulness and dedication, and she will advance the teaching and research mission. On behalf of our community, I’d also like to extend endless gratitude to Sean for his extraordinary leadership that got us through the past few years named an ‘unprecedented time in history!’”
Congratulations to Professor Gaudet!
