This endowed chair recognizes Dr. Lander as one of the nation’s foremost scholars in the exciting new field of systems biology. Dr. Lander founded the UCI Center for Complex Biological Systems (CCBS) in 2001 and continues to serve as the director. The center facilitates collaborative work of biologists, mathematicians, physicists, engineers, and computer scientists to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of complex biological systems. NIH recently awarded Dr. Lander and the CCBS a 5-year, $11.5 million grant to continue support of center activities. This funds both research but other programs including a nationally acclaimed residential short course in systems biology each year and community engagement projects. For more see http://www.bio.uci.edu/2013/02/lander-named-donald-bren-professor/