Director, School of Agriculture and Food Systems
Chris Ashwell joins the Mountaineer family from North Carolina State University where he leads the Office of Undergraduate Research. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and nutrition from Virginia Tech and his Ph.D. in biochemistry from Wake Forest University. He joined the faculty in NC State’s Prestage Department of Poultry Science in 2003 and developed an extramurally funded research and teaching program in functional genomics and biotechnology. During his tenure as director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, Ashwell impacted student success by supporting and promoting discovery, inquiry, scholarship and creativity-based opportunities through mentored research experiences across all of the disciplines. He also developed professional development programming for undergraduates and increased the participation of underrepresented groups in research and discovery.