Ian Ehrenreich

Divisional Dean for the Life Sciences

As the divisional dean for the life sciences, Professor of Biological Sciences Ian Ehrenreich provides critical academic leadership to life sciences faculty in the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. He supports departments, centers and institutes in recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty and advancing innovative research, and helps faculty navigate administrative challenges.

Ehrenreich is a distinguished scholar whose research has advanced the fields of genetics and synthetic biology. He explores the genetic basis of complex traits to understand how genetic variation influences phenotypic diversity. This problem affects nearly all areas of the foundational and applied life sciences, including the prediction, prevention, and treatment of disease, the development of productive crops, the adaptation of organisms to their environments, and the bioengineering of industrially important organisms and cell therapies. Much of his group’s current work involves using chromosome synthesis to better understand the fundamental principles of cellular life and its diversity.

Since joining the USC Dornsife Department of Biological Sciences (Molecular and Computational Biology Section) in 2011, he has taken on several key roles, including Vice Chair and Interim Chair. His work has been well-funded by significant grants from organizations including the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the W. M. Keck Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the Army Research Office.