Bradley K. Yoder, Ph.D., UAHSF Endowed Chair in Biomedical Research, has been named chair of the Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology (CDIB) at the UAB School of Medicine. Yoder has led the department in an interim capacity since January 1, 2016. He took the role on a permanent basis effective May 22, 2017.
“Brad has been a member of the of the UAB faculty for more than 19 years and is highly respected nationally and internationally as a basic scientist who has focused quite successfully on cilia biology and genetic mouse models," said Selwyn M. Vickers, M.D., FACS, senior vice president for Medicine and dean of the School of Medicine. “I am excited about Brad’s leadership and look forward to continuing to work with him."
The Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology is one of seven Joint Health Science departments in the UAB Schools of Medicine and Dentistry. Formed in 2012 by the merger of the departments of Cell Biology and Physiology & Biophysics, the Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology has 40 primary faculty who work to achieve the department’s research, teaching and graduate training missions. The department is ranked No. 11 nationally in funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Yoder will be responsible for the strategic leadership of all aspects of the department’s research and scholarly productivity, space utilization, human resource management, teaching, and for compliance with School and UAB policies. He will work closely with the leadership of UAB and other schools and departments and serve on the SOM Executive Committee.
“I am honored by the trust that Dr. Vickers has placed in me and the vision that I have for CDIB,” Yoder said. “I look forward to working with the SOM and the outstanding faculty in the department and across UAB to achieve excellence in our educational and research mission.”
Yoder came to UAB in 1997 as an assistant professor in the Department of Cell Biology as a Carl W. Gottschalk Research Scholar. He rose to the rank of full professor in 2007 and is a senior scientist in the Center for Aging, Clinical Nutrition Research Center, Diabetes Center, and Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is active in graduate education programs at UAB serving from 2009-2016 as the founding director of the Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology theme and the Director of the T32 Training Program in Cell and Molecular Biology. In 2011, he became the director of the P30 Hepatorenal Fibrocystic Disease Core Center and was recipient of the 2011 UAB Exceptional Innovation Award.