The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology is pleased to announce that Dr. Andrew Belmont, professor of cell and developmental biology has been named a Gutgsell Endowed Chair. Gutgsell endowed appointments were established by Edward William and Jane Marr Gutgsell to promote faculty development and ensure high achievement.
“An endowed chair represents one of the university’s highest and most distinguished faculty honors,” said Provost John Coleman. “These scholars exemplify excellence at the highest level, earning international recognition as leaders and innovators in their fields. We are proud of their contributions to our university’s excellence and to the lasting societal impact of their research, teaching and service worldwide.”
Belmont has spent nearly four decades at the U. of I., joining the faculty ranks in 1989. A Gutgsell appointment honors stellar professors who have achieved the highest levels of distinction in their fields, and Belmont has reached the pinnacle of his research focus as a leading authority on the study of large-scale chromatin organization. Belmont’s major contributions are in 3D genome organization and live-cell chromatin imaging. He developed foundational methods to visualize specific DNA loci in living cells and helped establish how chromatin moves, folds and is positioned within the nucleus.
His group also created TSA-seq to map genomic proximity to nuclear compartments, revealing that nuclear location is dynamically linked to transcriptional regulation and genome function. Belmont earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from Princeton University and both a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) and a PhD in Physiology and Biophysics from Temple University. He also holds a professorship in the Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology at Illinois.
Dr. Belmont was nominated by Dr. Supriya Prasanth, who is also his successor as chair of the Department of CDB. “Dr. Andrew Belmont's career exemplifies the very highest standards of scholarship, innovation, and leadership,” Prasanth said. “For more than three decades, he has transformed our understanding of genome organization through pioneering discoveries in higher-order chromatin architecture, chromosome dynamics, and the role of nuclear organization in gene regulation, while developing innovative technologies that have become indispensable tools for laboratories around the world.
“His sustained scientific excellence, together with his outstanding leadership as former Head of Cell and Developmental Biology and a leader of the NIH 4D Nucleome Initiative, makes him exceptionally deserving of this honor.”
Belmont will be honored in an investiture ceremony, hosted by the Office of the Provost, during the spring semester.
Read the full announcement from the news bureau.
