Sally Kornbluth

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Sally Kornbluth
Sally Kornbluth.jpg
Kornbluth in 2023
18th President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 1, 2023
Signature Signature of Sally Kornbluth.png
Scientific career
FieldsCellular biology
Institutions Duke University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Thesis Modulation of cellular SRC family tyrosine kinases: phosphorylation state and polyomavirus middle T antigen binding  (1989)
Doctoral advisor Hidesaburo Hanafusa
Doctoral students Daniel Colón-Ramos

Sally Ann Kornbluth (born 1960) is an American cell biologist, currently serving as the 18th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in January 2023. She served as provost of Duke University from July 2014 to December 2022.

Contents

Early life and education

Kornbluth was born in Paterson, New Jersey, and grew up in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, [1] graduating in 1978 from Fair Lawn High School. [2] Her father George was an accountant [1] and her mother, Marisa Galvany, was an opera singer. [3]

Kornbluth received a Bachelor of Arts with a major in political science from Williams College in 1982 and a Bachelor of Arts in natural sciences with a specialisation in genetics from the University of Cambridge in 1984. [4] [5] She received a Doctor of Philosophy in molecular oncology from Rockefeller University in 1989. [6]

While at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, she was a Herchel Smith Scholar. She worked at the laboratory of Hidesaburo Hanafusa when at Rockefeller University, [7] and performed postdoctoral training with John Newport at the University of California, San Diego. [8] [9]

Career

Duke University

Kornbluth joined the faculty at Duke University in 1994. Her research focuses on cell growth and programmed cell death and how cancer cells evade apoptosis. [10] [11] She is interested in the role of programmed cell death in regulating the length of female fertility in vertebrates, in a mechanism regulated by caspase-2. [9] [12] [13]

At Duke, she received a Research Mentoring award in 2012 and the Distinguished Faculty Award from the Duke Medical Alumni Association in 2013. She was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 2013. [14]

In 2014, Kornbluth became provost at Duke, the first woman to serve in this role. [8] [15] As provost, she oversaw a leadership transition in which female Deans became a majority at Duke. [16] She is an advocate of liberal arts education and has stated that her own experience in a liberal arts school at Williams College led her to a career in the sciences. [17] She is also an advocate for online learning as a driver of pedagogic innovation. [18]

She also served as Chair of the Board of Trustees of Duke Kunshan University in China, [19] overseeing the appointment of Al Bloom as Duke Kunshan University's Executive Vice Chancellor in 2020 [20] and the launch of the WHU–Duke Research Institute in 2014. [21]

Kornbluth served as vice dean for basic sciences at the Duke University School of Medicine from 2006 to 2014 and as provost of Duke University from 2014 to 2022. [14] [6]

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

In 2022, Kornbluth was selected as the 18th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, succeeding L. Rafael Reif in 2023. [22] [23] At her inauguration, she outlined objectives for MIT, including accelerating work on climate change and strengthening links between engineering and life sciences. [24]

Following the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, [25] Kornbluth and then presidents of the University of Pennsylvania and of Harvard University were summoned by the United States House Committee on Education and the Workforce to testify before a congressional hearing in December 2023 about antisemitism on their university campuses. [26] When asked by United States Representative Elise Stefanik (R–NY) whether calls for "genocide of Jews" was harassment under university policies, she responded, "If targeted at individuals, not making public statements." [27] [28] Kornbluth's statement has been described by Stefanik and others as antisemitic, leading to calls by some for Kornbluth's resignation. [29]

Honors

Personal life

Kornbluth is Jewish. She is married to Daniel Lew, a professor of biology at MIT. [30] Lew was a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, while Kornbluth was studying at Emmanuel College; they were enrolled in the same genetics course. [5] [30] They have two children. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bradt, Steve (October 27, 2022). "Sally Kornbluth is named MIT's 18th president". Jewish Journal. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Two will enter Williams College", News Beacon and Dispatch, July 7, 1978. Accessed February 26, 2025, via Newspapers.com. "The following borough students will enter Williams College this fall as members of the Class of 1982: Michael C. Buchsbaum, son of Mr. and Mrs. Myron Buchsbaum of 13-51 Zito Court, and Sally A. Kornbluth, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Kornbluth of 17-12 Greenwood Drive, both recent graduates of Fair Lawn High School."
  3. ↑ Smith, Robin (October 31, 2014). "A scientist's unlikely path, with Duke Provost Sally Kornbluth". Duke Research Blog. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  4. ↑ "MIT President Sally Kornbluth". MIT Office of the President. Retrieved October 2, 2025. "Making a sharp pivot toward biology, she received a scholarship to attend Cambridge University, where she earned a BA in genetics in 1984..."
  5. 1 2 "Cambridge Tripos results: Natural history, anthropology, natural sciences". The Times. June 27, 1984. p. 12.
  6. 1 2 "Sally Kornbluth". MIT Department of Biology. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  7. ↑ Kornbluth, Sally Ann (1989). Modulation of cellular src family tyrosine kinases: Phosphorylation state and polyomavirus middle T antigen binding (Ph.D. thesis). The Rockefeller University. OCLC   38075792. ProQuest   303824168.
  8. 1 2 "Sally Kornbluth Named Duke University Provost" (Press release). Duke University. March 3, 2014. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  9. 1 2 Sedwick, Caitlin (July 7, 2014). "Sally Kornbluth: Nature's incredible contraptions". The Journal of Cell Biology. 206 (1): 4–5. doi:10.1083/jcb.2061pi. ISSN   0021-9525. PMC   4085709 . PMID   25002675.
  10. ↑ "Sally Kornbluth, Ph.D." Duke University School of Medicine - Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology. Retrieved March 25, 2015.[ permanent dead link ]
  11. ↑ Matsuura, K.; Huang, N.-J.; Cocce, K.; Zhang, L.; Kornbluth, S. (2017). "Downregulation of the proapoptotic protein MOAP-1 by the UBR5 ubiquitin ligase and its role in ovarian cancer resistance to cisplatin". Oncogene. 36 (12): 1698–1706. doi:10.1038/onc.2016.336. ISSN   1476-5594. PMC   5447866 . PMID   27721409.
  12. ↑ Nutt, Leta K.; Margolis, Seth S.; Jensen, Mette; Herman, Catherine E.; Dunphy, William G.; Rathmell, Jeffrey C.; Kornbluth, Sally (October 7, 2005). "Metabolic regulation of oocyte cell death through the CaMKII-mediated phosphorylation of caspase-2". Cell. 123 (1): 89–103. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2005.07.032. ISSN   0092-8674. PMC   2788768 . PMID   16213215.
  13. ↑ "The Collaborator". MIT News.
  14. 1 2 "Sally Kornbluth, vice dean for basic science at Duke, named to Institute of Medicine" (Press release). Duke Medicine. October 21, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  15. ↑ Muoio, Danielle (July 1, 2014). "Meet Sally Kornbluth: the first female provost". The Chronicle (Duke University). Archived from the original on March 19, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  16. ↑ WRAL (July 26, 2018). "'Two remaining men': Female leaders become majority at Duke schools". WRAL.com. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  17. ↑ Yang, Robert (March 12, 2014). "Duke appoints Kornbluth as provost". The Williams Record. Retrieved March 25, 2015.[ permanent dead link ]
  18. ↑ Anders, George. "Duke's Sally Kornbluth Gives Online Learning Top Marks". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  19. ↑ "Board of Trustees | Duke Kunshan University". dukekunshan.edu.cn. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  20. ↑ "Global education leader Al Bloom to be executive vice chancellor | Duke Kunshan University". dukekunshan.edu.cn. May 4, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  21. ↑ "Overview | Duke Kunshan University". dukekunshan.edu.cn. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  22. ↑ Bradt, Steve (October 20, 2022). "Sally Kornbluth is named as MIT's 18th president" . Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  23. ↑ Hartocollis, Anemona (October 20, 2022). "M.I.T. Names a Duke Provost as Its New President". The New York Times. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  24. ↑ "The collaborator". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  25. ↑ Belkin, Douglas; Ellis, Lindsay (October 11, 2023). "Blaming Israel for Hamas Attacks Sparks Backlash Across U.S., Exposing Deep Rifts". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  26. ↑ Haslett, Cheyenne; Hensley, Sarah Beth (December 5, 2023). "Presidents of universities grilled on efforts to counter antisemitism on campus". ABC News . Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  27. ↑ Damiano, Mike; Burns, Hilary (December 6, 2023). "University presidents' responses to genocide question at congressional hearing draw furor". The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  28. ↑ Borter, Gabriella (December 6, 2023). "US House Republicans grill university presidents over campus antisemitism". Reuters. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  29. ↑ "University presidents face investigation, walk back responses after heated hearing on antisemitism". USA TODAY. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  30. 1 2 "Daniel Lew". MIT Biology. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
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Preceded by18th President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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