Past chair of the faculty: Leslie Parise, 2017-2019

With a near-record 1852 faculty members (just over 50% of those eligible) voting in the 2017 faculty elections, Professor Leslie Parise was elected Chair of the Faculty in April 2017. She held office from July 1, 2017 until May 8, 2019.

Leslie Parise is professor and chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, joint professor of pharmacology and member of the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and McAllister Heart Institute. Professor Parise received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois Medical Center followed by postdoctoral work at the Gladstone Foundation/University of California at San Francisco. She joined the UNC-Chapel Hill faculty in 1988.

Professor Parise served on the Faculty Executive Committee, Faculty Council and the Financial Exigency and Program Change Committee. She has worked extensively across campus to improve the campus environment for work-life balance, to support the creation of the Chancellor’s Science Scholars Program and to strengthen undergraduate achievement in the sciences through the University’s Quality Enhancement Plan.

Professor Parise has received continuous research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and is highly published and recognized internationally in the areas of thrombosis, sickle cell disease and cancer. She has also received multiple awards and honors for her work in the field of Biochemistry and Biophysics. She is the president elect of the Association of Medical & Graduate Departments of Biochemistry, an elected member of the Public Advisory Committee of the American Association for Biochemistry, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a recipient of the Stewart-Niewiarowski Award for Women in Vascular Biology.

Click here to read more about Professor Parise in the University Gazette.