“I’m so delighted and honored to have the support of the Flanagan family for my research program,” said Kemp, who also is a Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Cancer Scholar. “The professorship will provide my research group with the funding flexibility to take bold, intellectual risks in our development of computational tools for cancer precision medicine. We are particularly excited in the upcoming years to investigate the role of metabolism in why individuals respond variably to radiation and chemotherapies.”

Kemp joined the Department in 2006, earning tenure in 2012 and promotion to full professor in 2020. Her research uses computational systems biology to understand how metabolism influences the decisions that cells make. She has produced key insights into the influence of cellular redox processes on chemotherapy drug metabolism.

“Melissa’s models have forced the field of molecular biology to develop new methods for measuring short-lived molecules and protein modifications. She is a leader whose theories have been validated by her colleagues and shifted the paradigm in the field,” said Susan Margulies, Wallace H. Coulter Chair of Coulter BME. “She is an innovative thought leader and an excellent, creative teacher who is more than deserving of this recognition and the resources that come with it.”

Full story by Joshua Stewart may be found here:  Dasi, Kemp Named to Endowed Professorships (gatech.edu)