TROY, N.Y. — Robert Palazzo, professor and chair of the Department of Biology, has been appointed director of the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, effective immediately. He had been serving as acting director of the Center since last spring.

As director of the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Palazzo will oversee Rensselaer’s priorities in biotechnology research, coordinating and developing the Center’s research programs and core facilities and facilitating strategic growth opportunities.

“Dr. Palazzo is a world-renowned cell biologist who has been instrumental in advancing Rensselaer’s biology and biotechnology capabilities and building research programs in core growth areas,” said Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson. “His continued leadership with the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies will facilitate the vital collaboration of scientists and engineers from a variety of disciplines, accelerating discovery that will have numerous applications in health and medicine.”

“Now is the time for Rensselaer to take its position among the leading universities in life sciences research,” said Palazzo. “The Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies is a significant step in that direction and provides a dynamic opportunity to create a new model for interdisciplinary research. I look forward to working with President Jackson and the leadership team to achieve this goal as outlined in The Rensselaer Plan.” 

Rensselaer’s new Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies provides state-of-the-art facilities for research and education focused on the application of engineering and the physical and information sciences to the life sciences.

"Our search committee had the opportunity to meet with and interview many excellent and highly qualified candidates from both academia and industry,” said Robert J. Linhardt, Ann and John H. Broadbent, Jr. ’59 Senior Constellation Professor of Biocatalysis and Metabolic Engineering, who led the international search for the position. “Increasingly, our attention was directed towards our exceptionally qualified internal candidate. Bob Palazzo's research background, his experience and accomplishments as acting director, and his strong interpersonal skills made him the ideal choice to lead the campus-wide effort to build biotechnology at Rensselaer."

Palazzo received his bachelor’s degree in biology and doctorate in biological sciences from Wayne State University and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Virginia and The Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. He has continued participation in collaborative research at Woods Hole.

Palazzo joined Rensselaer as professor and chair of the biology department in 2002. Under his leadership, Rensselaer has recruited seven biology faculty members in the past two years. He has also been instrumental in significantly enhancing total research awards from the National Institutes of Health, the primary sponsor of research in the life sciences.

Palazzo has authored numerous journal and conference research papers in areas such as cellular organization, cell motility, and cell replication and has organized several symposia and international meetings on these subjects. He has served as chair of the Science Council and as an ex-officio member of the board of trustees for Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory. He serves on the board of directors for the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, is a member of the American Society for Cell Biology Public Policy Committee and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Public Affairs Committee, and is an editorial board member for the scientific journal Biology of the Cell.

Contact: Tiffany Lohwater
Phone: (518) 276-6542
E-mail: lohwat@rpi.edu