Nancy “Nana” M. Bennett, M.D., M.S., who has served as a co-director of the University of Rochester Clinical and Translational Science Institute (UR CTSI) and co-PI on its UL1 grant since 2014, will step down from that role at the end of June. Karen Wilson, M.D., M.P.H., the Ruth A. Lawrence Professor of Pediatrics and vice chair for clinical and translational research in Pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center, has been named as Bennett’s successor, pending NCATS' approval.
Bennett has been an integral member of the UR CTSI from its inception, starting as the institute’s director of Community Engagement 17 years ago. In the intervening years, she has ensured that the UR CTSI maintained community engagement and population health improvement as a central focus and helped the institute gain national recognition for its expertise in community engagement.
Wilson, who currently serves as the UR CTSI's strategic director of Research Services and co-PI on its KL2 grant, has over two decades of research experience. Starting as a research assistant and clinical research coordinator, she rose through the ranks to become a physician-scientist with a strong clinical research portfolio. Having spent time at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Wilson will bring a fresh perspective to UR CTSI leadership.
Willson will serve as UR CTSI co-director alongside Martin Zand, M.D., Ph.D. “It has been just a tremendous honor and joy to work with Nana and I will greatly miss our partnership,” said Zand. “As we bid Nana a fond farewell, we are very fortunate to have Karen step into the role as co-director of the UR CTSI. She brings critical skills and varied experience at this time of change in the landscape of translational research and translational science…”
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