Dr. James Weyhenmeyer

James A. Weyhenmeyer, Ph.D. is the Senior Vice President for Research at the Research Foundation and Senior Vice Provost for Research at the State University of New York. In this newly created position spanning the RF and SUNY, Dr. Weyhenmeyer provides leadership for research and innovation at SUNY.

In addition to promoting synergistic research opportunities among SUNY campuses, he coordinates SUNY's Empire Innovation Program to recruit research faculty; leads the research, development and technology programs of the RF; and serves as primary liaison to the university centers and medical campuses.

Dr. Weyhenmeyer most recently served as interim vice president for technology and economic development at the University of Illinois. He is an experienced senior administrator who has held executive administrative appointments at Illinois , including Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Associate Vice President for Economic Development and Corporate Relations.

In December 2007, Dr. Weyhenmeyer was elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. This prestigious independent institution promotes innovation and economic development internationally. Among its select group of 1,000 members are renowned scientists, engineers and economists from major U.S. research universities as well as international universities and companies.

As executive director of IllinoisVENTURES, LLC, Dr. Weyhenmeyer led an organization that focuses on the early-stage development of technology-based companies deriving from regional research institutions and universities. He serves as a member of the Board of Governors of Argonne National Laboratory and the Board of Directors of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. He also serves on scientific advisory boards for companies in the gene technology and drug development sectors and as a scientific and business consultant for early-stage due diligence. Dr. Weyhenmeyer has served as chief scientific officer for a medical device company and chief operating officer for a drug delivery company.

As a cell biologist/neuroscientist, Dr. Weyhenmeyer has researched and published extensively on degenerative brain disorders. He has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, American Heart Association, and the PHARMA Foundation. He serves on a number of national scientific committees and boards and recently finished terms as the president of the American Heart Association-Midwest and chair of the American Heart Association's National Research Committee. He is also an affiliate member of the Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois.

Dr. Weyhenmeyer received his bachelor's degree from Knox College and his doctorate from Indiana University . Before joining the faculty at Illinois in 1979, he received postdoctoral training in the Departments of Medicine and Physiology/Biophysics at the University of Iowa.