For Mark Winey, the path into biology was deeply personal from the start. Watching his sister live with an inherited metabolic disease sparked a curiosity about genetics that would shape his entire career.
He is this month’s guest on Face to Face With Chancellor May.
Now serving as the dean of the College of Biological Sciences, Winey reflects on a journey shaped by both personal motivation and professional passion.
Winey’s academic career has been marked by significant contributions to the study of cell division. One of his proudest research discoveries shed new light on the mechanisms that ensure cells divide accurately — an essential process for all living organisms.
“We discovered a key regulator of the mitosis event and reported it 35 years ago, and it is still studied to this day,” Winey said.
This work has had lasting influence in the field, advancing scientific understanding and opening doors for further research.
But for Winey, science is not only about discovery but also about the people. He places strong emphasis on mentorship, believing that students learn best by actively engaging in research.
“We really do work hard to ensure that our students have the opportunity to get to know faculty through their classroom experience, but more importantly through experiential learning,” Winey said. “The mentoring experience is there to show them that they can be a scientist, they can be a healthcare professional and help them envision themselves in that role.”
Outside of his own work, Winey also highlighted Professor Venkatesan Sundaresan’s work on which was federally funded. Winey came to recognize that curiosity alone is not enough to sustain scientific progress. It requires support, and much of that support comes from federal funding.
“The loss of that funding will have at least two major impacts or slow reduced funding. One is much of the work takes years to accomplish,” Winey said. “Another is that our whole training pipeline for undergraduates, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows would be severely compromised.”
May agreed.
“Sundaresan’s work is fantastic, May said. “That's really indicative of the kind of research impact we want to have at 51ԹϺ Davis.”
Learn more about Winey’s take on how basic research leads to discoveries, his passions outside of work and the most inspiring place he’s hiked.
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Anila Lijo is a writer and editor for the Office of Strategic Communications, and can be reached by email.