Mark Winey

Mark Winey became dean of the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences on August 1, 2016. He came to UC Davis following 25 years of teaching, research and leadership at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He is a distinguished biologist, an experienced administrator and a strong advocate of biology education at every level.

Dean Winey graduated from Syracuse University with a B.S. in Biology with honors and earned a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Following graduate school, he served as an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Genetics at the University of Washington. In 1991, he joined the faculty at the University of Colorado, Boulder where he eventually attained tenure. From 2012 to 2016, Winey served as the chair of the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology.

Winey's research explores the genetics and molecular biology of microtubule organizing centers, which include the cellular structures called centrosomes that are critical for organizing the spindles needed to ensure accurate movement of chromosomes during cell division. Centrosome defects can result in genomic instability that may contribute to the development of cancer as well as to chromosome mis-segregation that can lead to miscarriages. Winey’s academic honors include the distinction of Guggenheim Fellow and Pew Scholar, and he was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2014. In 2019, Mark was named a Fellow of the American Society for Cell Biology.

Graduate Program Affiliations

• Biochemistry, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology Graduate Group