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Zou named chair at Duke

Lee Zou

Lee Zou has been selected to serve as chair of the department of pharmacology and cancer biology at Duke University effective March 1. Prior to this appointment, he operated a research lab at Harvard University and was a professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School and the scientific co-director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center.

The studies the detection of and cellular response to DNA damage. Zou’s work has important implications in oncogenesis, cancer development and cancer therapy. The lab recently published a research article on molecules that promote the lengthening of telomeres in cells.

Zou earned his Ph.D. from Stony Brook University and the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in 1999 and then completed his postdoctoral training at Baylor College of Medicine and Harvard Medical School. He has received numerous awards including the National Cancer Institute’s Outstanding Investigator Award, the Kraft Prize for Translational Research and a Breakthrough Award from the Department of Defense.

Zou also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Dean tapped to helm UGA’s Griffin branch

Jeffrey Dean

The University of Georgia has named Jeffrey Dean assistant provost and director of its Griffin campus effective Jan. 1. In this new role, he oversees all research, extension and academic programs at UGA Griffin.

Before this appointment, Dean was a professor and head of the department of biochemistry, molecular biology, entomology and plant pathology at Mississippi State University, in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Under his leadership, this department doubled enrollment for its bachelor’s degree program in biochemistry, launched an accelerated five-year master’s degree program for top students and renovated its buildings. Earlier in his career, Dean held teaching, research and leadership roles at UGA.

Dean’s research spans the fields of forestry, plant biology and biochemistry. In recent years, he has studied how wood forms and biodegrades, and how to boost growth and efficient use of biomass. While at UGA, he also explored how environmental stresses shape the way conifers grow and develop. His lab has won more than $4 million in funding from federal agencies ranging from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Dean received bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and biology from Stanford University and earned his doctorate in biochemistry from Purdue University. He is the author or co-author of more than 90 peer-reviewed journal articles and other publications.