IGB Director Steps Down, Interim Director Named
Gene Robinson has stepped down as IGB Director, Lisa Ainsworth, the Charles Adlai Ewing Chair of Crop Physiology in the Department of Crop Sciences and the Department of Plant Biology, has been named Interim Director.
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After nearly 15 years of dedicated leadership, Gene Robinson has stepped down as IGB Director to assume the role of Executive Director and CEO of the Discovery Partners Institute. Lisa Ainsworth, Charles Adlai Ewing Chair of Crop Physiology in the Department of Crop Sciences and the Department of Plant Biology, has agreed to serve as interim director of the IGB for the coming year.
A long-time member of the IGB, Lisa joined GEGC (now PFS) when the IGB opened and currently serves as co-leader of the theme. She is also a faculty member of CAMBERS and the Director of the Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) project. Lisa is an accomplished scholar, a skilled mentor, an experienced administrator, and a demonstrated research leader. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She joined the faculty at Illinois in 2024 after serving for 19 years as a scientist and then Research Leader for the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Global Change and Photosynthesis Research Unit, where she was recognized as Distinguished Senior Research Scientist of the Year in 2019. Throughout her career with ARS Lisa was embedded on campus as an adjunct member of the Departments of Plant Biology and of Crop Sciences.
Gene has served as the Director of the IGB since 2012. Under his leadership the IGB became one of the most well-known genomics institutes in the country, with a comprehensive research portfolio that spans agriculture, energy, health, technology, and AI. His new role as Executive Director and CEO of the Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) is a pivotal appointment as the U. of I. assumes its leadership moving forward. DPI will be a place to define the intersection of AI, Science, Technology, and Society, strengthen the talent pipeline, and contribute to the innovation and discovery happening across Chicago and the state of Illinois. It will focus on AI and its applications in domains relevant to Chicago, including collaboration with the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park (IQMP), and social and societal implications of AI.
“The IGB has grown and flourished under Gene’s leadership for the past 15 years," said Ainsworth. "The breadth of genomic research across disciplines is a distinguishing feature of excellence of the IGB alongside impactful community and public engagement. I am honored and excited to work with the excellent staff, students, and faculty to continue our ongoing efforts and to forge new paths towards genomic solutions for global grand challenges.”