Jo Handelsman

Jo Handelsman, Ph.D., was named the Frederick Phineas Rose Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology this spring. Handelsman, who is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, is noted for her research on diversity in microbial communities and their role in infectious disease, as well as for her efforts to improve science education and increase the participation of women and minorities in science at the university level. Her term as Frederick Phineas Rose Professor runs through June 30, 2015. In January she was one of 11 individuals selected by President Barack Obama to receive the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. Handelsman co-founded the Women in Science & Engineering Leadership Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was appointed the first president of the Rosalind Franklin Society, and served on the National Academies’ panel that wrote the 2007 report Beyond Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering.