Maitreya Dunham, PhD, will serve as the permanent chair of the Department of Genome Sciences at the UW School of Medicine starting July 1, 2024.
Dunham has held the interim chair role since September 2023. She’s led a department dedicated to addressing challenging questions in biology and medicine by developing and applying genetic, genomic, proteomic and computational approaches through technology development and research.
“As interim chair, Dr. Dunham has provided exceptional leadership and direction for this outstanding department,” says Tim Dellit, CEO of UW Medicine and the Paul G. Ramsey Endowed Dean of the UW School of Medicine. “I look forward to continuing to work with Dr. Dunham to support her vision for the department.”
Dunham also runs The Dunham Lab, where she leads research on genome evolution and genetic variation in both yeast and humans. Through her research, she hopes to learn the molecular details of how cells evolve and to address how genetic variation affects traits ranging from antifungal resistance to genetic diseases.
“I’m so excited to have the opportunity to lead a department that has consistently been at the forefront of our efforts to read, write, and interpret genome information, including for fundamental discovery research and applications to biotechnology and human health,” says Dunham. “I’m also proud of our record as a training ground for the next generation of genome scientists and hope to continue to cultivate talent at multiple levels during my tenure as chair.”
