HOUSTON, TX – September 23, 2019 – The Welch Foundation Board of Directors announced today that Adam Kuspa will serve as the Foundation’s new president. Kuspa succeeds Norbert Dittrich, who announced his retirement in early 2019.
“I am thrilled with the opportunity to draw upon my experience at Baylor College of Medicine to lead The Welch Foundation,” said Dr. Adam Kuspa. “I look forward to working with the Scientific Advisory Board, to fund leading researchers early in their careers as well as pioneers in their fields of study, as they continue to expand our knowledge through basic research.”
Dr. Kuspa has served as a Professor, Chair of Biochemistry, Graduate School Dean and most recently as Senior Vice President and Dean of Research at Baylor College of Medicine. In his most recent role, he helped drive the college’s strategic vision for research, developed by the faculty, college leadership, and the Board of Trustees.
Dr. Kuspa received his B.A. in biochemistry from the University of California at San Diego, his Ph.D. in biochemistry from Stanford University and he served as an American Cancer Society postdoctoral fellow at the University of California at San Diego. He joined the Baylor College of Medicine faculty in 1993 as an assistant professor of biochemistry and has been involved in several programs, including Developmental Biology and Molecular and Human Genetics, as well as the Human Genome Sequencing Center.
Dr. Kuspa was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2005. He served as chair of the Verna and Marrs McLean Department of Biochemistry from March 2006 to April 2011, and was named to head Baylor College of Medicine's research enterprise in July 2010. He was twice awarded the Michael E. DeBakey, M.D., Excellence in Research Award which is the highest research award at the college.
“We look forward to welcoming Dr. Kuspa. He is poised to help position the Foundation impacting the next generation of researchers in chemistry, biochemistry and chemical engineering across Texas,” said Carin Marcy Barth, Chair and Director, The Welch Foundation Board of Directors.
The Welch Foundation, based in Houston, is one of the nation’s largest private funding sources for basic chemical research. Since 1954, the Foundation has contributed nearly $930 million to the advancement of chemistry through research grants, departmental grants, endowed chairs, and support for other chemistry-related programs in Texas.
For more information on the Foundation, please visit www.welch1.org.
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