The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology is honored to announce that Dr. Susan Martinis will deliver the convocation address at its 2025 ceremony.
The School of MCB convocation will take place at 9 a.m. on Sunday, May 18, 2025, at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. The ceremony will celebrate undergraduate and graduate students earning degrees in Molecular & Cellular Biology, Biochemistry, and related disciplines. A reception in the Krannert Center lobby will follow the ceremony.
Illinois alumna Dr. Susan Martinis is an engaged biomedical researcher, committed educator, and experienced academic leader. As Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, she oversees the campus-wide interdisciplinary research institutes, University of Illinois Research Park, Illinois Quantum & Microelectronics Park, and corporate engagement as well as promotes new research initiatives, translation, and entrepreneurship. As the Stephen G. Sligar Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, she investigates mechanisms, evolution, and biomedical applications of protein synthesis and RNA-protein interactions using aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases.
Dr. Martinis earned her BS in biochemistry from Washington State University and PhD in Biochemistry from Illinois in 1990. After completing her American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she became the third employee hired at Cubist, a start-up biotechnology company that developed the life-saving antibiotic Cubicin. In 1997, she was recruited to the University of Houston, where she was recognized with several teaching awards. In 2005, she returned to Illinois as a biochemistry professor and ultimately became head of the Department of Biochemistry. Dr. Martinis contributed significantly to the founding of the Carle-Illinois College of Medicine, offering a paradigm-shifting approach to teaching medicine that is engineering-based.
Dr. Martinis is a national leader, who serves as Chair of the Big10 Senior Research Officers, outgoing Chair of the Council of Research for the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, outgoing Board Chair of UIDP, and is on the AAU Steering Committee for Senior Research Officers, representing America’s leading research institutions.
For more information about the School of MCB convocation, please visit the convocation event page.