Scott Strobel, Ph.D., Nigel D. F. Grindley, Ph.D.

Scott Strobel, Ph.D., was named chair of the Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry (MB&B) for a three-year term that began July 1. Strobel succeeds Nigel D. F. Grindley, Ph.D., who has led the department since 2003. Also this spring, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) named Strobel as one of its new HHMI professors chosen for the quality of their teaching, inspiration and mentoring. Strobel will receive $1 million over four years to implement innovative science teaching ideas. HHMI will provide the resources for Strobel to take undergraduates “bioprospecting” for promising natural products in the world’s rain forests. The students will then purify and analyze the compounds they collect and test them for potentially beneficial activity.