PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation is proud to announce that its chief program officer of science, Vicki Chandler, Ph.D., has been appointed to the National Science Board (NSB) by President Barack Obama. Dr. Chandler is one of six newly appointed members to the 25-member NSB, and will serve a six-year term on this critical body that recommends and advises the President and Congress on national policies for promoting research and education in science and engineering.
“Dr. Chandler is a superb choice for membership on the National Science Board. In her many leadership roles, she has developed a uniquely broad purview and expertise that will be invaluable for her service,” said Bruce Alberts, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco and board member of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. “She is an outstanding plant molecular biologist who has long worked selflessly to maintain the health of the scientific enterprise. As the chief program officer of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s science program, Dr. Chandler has done a brilliant job of identifying underfunded areas of fundamental science where breakthroughs can be generated with additional research support and created methods that are effective in funding the very best individual scientists, all while encouraging new collaborations.”
Dr. Chandler is the only member of the NSB from a private foundation. In her role at the Moore Foundation, she leads investments in the development of new technologies, supporting top research scientists and bringing together new, often groundbreaking scientific partnerships. The program’s portfolio—designed to advance scientific innovation and discovery—includes the Marine Microbiology Initiative, a plant science collaboration with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Data-Driven Discovery Initiative, a new Emergent Phenomena in Quantum Systems Initiative and commitments to the California Institute of Technology and Thirty Meter Telescope.
Dr. Chandler’s research career focused on the epigenetic control of gene expression in plants and animals. Prior to joining the Moore Foundation, she was the founding director of the BIO5 Institute, an interdisciplinary center at the University of Arizona devoted to improving health and saving lives through innovative research efforts. She also served as Regent’s professor, full professor in both the Molecular Cellular Biology and Plant Sciences Departments and was a member of the Interdisciplinary Program in Genetics. She began her academic career at the University of Oregon, where she worked for 12 years. In addition to her appointment to the NSB, Dr. Chandler currently serves as president of the Genetics Society of America, is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She was also a Searle Scholar and Presidential Young Investigator and received a National Institutes of Health Director’s Pioneer Award. Dr. Chandler studied biochemistry for her undergraduate and doctoral degrees at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, San Francisco, respectively, and performed her postdoctoral research at Stanford University.
About the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation believes in bold ideas that create enduring impact in the areas of science, environmental conservation and patient care. Intel co-founder Gordon and his wife Betty established the foundation to create positive change around the world and at home in the San Francisco Bay Area. Science looks for opportunities to transform—or even create—entire fields by investing in early-stage research, emerging fields and top research scientists. Our environmental conservation efforts promote sustainability, protect critical ecological systems and align conservation needs with human development. Patient care focuses on eliminating preventable harms and unnecessary health care costs through meaningful engagement of patients and their families in a redesigned, supportive health care system. Visit us at Moore.org or follow @MooreFound.