After a decade leading the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, Kenan Distinguished Professor Nancy Allbritton is stepping down as Chair of BME at the end of October. On November 1, 2019 Dr. Allbritton will be joining the University of Washington in Seattle as the next Frank & Julie Jungers Dean of the College of Engineering. The news is bittersweet as the department has grown tremendously under Dr. Allbritton’s leadership since 2009. She expanded and streamlined the Joint Department at UNC and NC State, which includes faculty from the School of Medicine, the UNC College of Arts and Sciences, and the College of Engineering at NC State.
In the official announcement of her appointment the University of Washington Provost Mark Richards said that “We could not be more pleased that she is joining the UW team, and we look forward, in particular, to her leadership in bridging the engineering and health sciences disciplines. This is a big win for the UW.” Indeed, Dr. Allbritton’s research uses techniques from chemistry, physics, engineering and materials science to develop new technologies for biomedical applications. Funded by more than $60 million in grants since 2000, Dr. Allbritton’s work develops technologies and platforms for biomedical research and clinical care, including the study and analysis of single cells for the treatment of a variety of diseases such as cancer, macular degeneration and HIV. Dr. Allbritton has also co-founded four startup companies and holds 43 issued and pending patents that have led to 15 commercial products. UNC named her as Inventor of the Year in 2017.
Dr. Allbritton recently said about her new appointment “I am extremely enthusiastic yet deeply humbled by being named as the next Frank & Julie Jungers Dean of the College of Engineering, especially in view of its history of excellence, its profile of accomplishment and its immense promise. The opportunity to work with and among some of the most talented and creative faculty and the bright and aspiring students at UW is truly an inspiration.” We congratulate Dr. Allbritton on her new position, and we also thank her for the stellar service and support to the department and two universities over the past ten years. You will be missed Dr. Nancy Allbritton! For the full article on her appointment as Dean, visit UW news here.