Biography of Dr. M.R.C. Greenwood

Dr. M.R.C. Greenwood was appointed to the position of Associate Director for Science at the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President, and was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 10, 1993.

She previously served as Dean of Graduate Studies at the University of California at Davis from 1989 to 1993. She came to UC Davis from Vassar College where she was the John Guy Vassar Professor of Natural Sciences, Chair of the Department of Biology, and Director of the Undergraduate Research Summer Institute.

In 1992, Dr. Greenwood was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. She has served as Director of the NIH Obesity Research Center Animal Model CORE Laboratory; chair of the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences; member of the NIH Nutrition Study Section; President of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity and was Vice President Elect of the American Society for Clinical Nutrition. Dr. Greenwood graduated summa cum laude from Vassar College and received her Ph.D. from The Rockefeller University. She did postdoctoral research on human nutrition and genetics at the Institute for Human Nutrition at Columbia University, and was an assistant professor there. In 1978 she returned to Vassar as Associate Professor of Biology; she became full professor in 1981. She has taught many graduate and undergraduate courses including introductory biology, human sexuality, nutrition, biochemistry and mammalian physiology.

At UC Davis, Dr. Greenwood was appointed Professor in the Departments of Nutrition and Internal Medicine. Her research interests are in developmental cell biology, genetics, physiology and nutrition. Her work over the past 25 years, focusing on the genetic causes of obesity, is recognized world-wide. In 1982 she was honored for significant contributions to nutrition research by the American Institute of Nutrition. She has been a principal investigator on numerous federal and foundation grants. Dr. Greenwood is the author of over 200 scientific publications and presentations. She has been a member of several editorial boards including the Journal of Nutrition and Obesity Research and has been a consultant for several lay and professional organizations. Dr. Greenwood has served on the Executive Committee of CRPGE of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges and the Executive Committee of the Western Association of Graduate Schools.

Dr. Greenwood was also Reporting Dean for the Division of Education and a member of several groups and councils on the Davis campus, including the Council of Vice Chancellors, the Council of Vice Chancellors and Deans, The Academic Planning Council, the Biological Sciences Council, the Graduate Council, the Campus Development Council, the Financial Aid Work Group, and the Affirmative Action Work Group. Dr. Greenwood was formerly Chair of the University of California Council of Graduate Deans and served on the Joint Graduate Board (California State University/University of California).

Speeches and Testimony