College of Sciences Dean Paul M. Goldbart has appointed J. Todd Streelman to serve as the chair of the School of Biological Sciences, effective August 15, 2016. The School of Biological Sciences is a new unit within the College of Sciences, effective July 1, 2016.

A professor and associate chair for graduate studies in the School of Biology, Streelman joined Georgia Tech in 2004. Previously, he did research at the University of New Hampshire, where he was the recipient of an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship in Molecular Evolution. Since joining Georgia Tech, he has been honored as a Sloan Foundation Research Fellow in Computational and Evolutionary Molecular Biology and with a National Science Foundation CAREER Award.

Streelman’s research is focused on the relationship between genotype and phenotype in wild vertebrates, often via studies of cichlid fishes from Lake Malawi, in Africa. Major themes include aspects of the genomic and cellular circuitry of complex behavior, tooth and taste bud patterning and regeneration, and developmental diversification of the brain. Streelman served as associate editor for the journal Evolution and is a standing member of the National Institutes of Health Study Section on Skeletal Biology Development and Disease.

For the past four years, Streelman has played a pivotal role in defining the research themes for the Engineered Biosystems Building I, Georgia Tech’s inspiring new venture to catalyze interactions between life scientists and life engineers. He also co-chairs an Institute task force charged with developing Georgia Tech’s strengths in the field of neuroscience.

“My colleagues in the College of Sciences team and I are excited to be partnering with Todd and our colleagues in the School of Biological Sciences,” says College of Sciences Dean Paul M. Goldbart.

The new School of Biological Sciences combines the Schools of Applied Physiology and of Biology. The single entity is designed to capitalize on and add coherence to Georgia Tech’s broad strengths in the life sciences, both in research and in the suite of educational opportunities that the school will offer.

In taking on the role of chair, Streelman will be building on the outstanding leadership of Professors T. Richard Nichols and Terry W. Snell, says Dean Goldbart. “Richard and Terry have led their respective schools, Applied Physiology and Biology, with distinction, and they have guided the fusion of the schools with sensitivity and vision. I thank them for their critically important contributions.”

“I am thrilled to be named chair, on behalf of my colleagues in the School of Biological Sciences,” Streelman says. “I am excited to continue progress made under Richard and Terry, to both sustain and propel innovative research and teaching in the life sciences.”

Streelman’s appointment follows a national search conducted by Georgia Tech faculty members Linda E. Green, Brian K. Hammer, Julia Kubanek, Garrett B. Stanley, Joshua S. Weitz, Loren D. Williams, and Soojin Yi. Leading the search committee was Hang Lu, of Georgia Tech's School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.