Mazei-Robison named Associate Dean of Research and Infrastructure
When a new professor signs a contract at Michigan State University, negotiating a salary and starting date are only part of the process.
Michelle Mazei-Robison remembers working with then-Associate Dean of Research and Infrastructure Dave Dewitt back in 2012. She and her husband, A.J. Robison, were both being recruited, and both needed specific spaces and equipment to research addiction and its underlying changes in the brain.
Dewitt had a vision for what they’d need to thrive at MSU and made sure the wife-and-husband duo had renovated lab space to hit the ground running. Now, Mazei-Robison can do the same for future MSU researchers.
The new associate dean of research and infrastructure stepped into her new role this summer. She’s filling the shoes of recent interim Associate Dean Norman Birge.
“When I was recruited here, this role was really important and influential in getting me here,” Mazei-Robison said. “I care about ensuring that people can do the great research they want to do. Being in a position where I can help people do that is really rewarding.”
Mazei-Robison has been interested in neuroscience since she was an undergraduate at Central Michigan University, where she first dipped her toe into the topic. At first, she studied neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington’s disease. Then, in graduate school at Vanderbilt University, she was introduced to molecular mechanisms – the biological processes behind disorders.
At MSU, she’s spent the last 13 years climbing the ranks in the Department of Physiology, first as assistant professor and eventually associate chair. She and her lab study how changes in brain cells and genes contribute to psychiatric disorders, especially addiction.
Mazei-Robison will continue her research while spending the rest of her time diving deep into her new role. While she knows she has plenty of listening and learning ahead, she plans to use her years of experience at MSU to hit the ground running.
“I want to work as hard as I can to make sure we have the resources we need to continue the excellent research being done in the College of Natural Science,” Mazei-Robison said. “That could mean making sure our faculty that are here have the equipment and space to continue their work, as well as ensuring that we can push to draw new researchers to MSU.”
She comes to the position at a challenging time in the university’s history. Not only is MSU facing budget constraints, but the national funding landscape has changed drastically throughout the past two years. Receiving grants that make research possible is much more challenging than it once was.
Mazei-Robison plans to work with the college’s pre-award team to help researchers apply for grant opportunities. She’s worked with the team extensively throughout her career as she applied for her own funding, and she hopes to tap into those connections to help researchers find new ways to support their research.
As a researcher, she knows she’s in a critical position. She’s seen firsthand the impact an assistant dean of research and infrastructure can make. Now, she’s ready to sit at the other side of the negotiating table.
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