It is with honor, gratitude, and bittersweet sentiments that we share that Dr. Moses Lee will be retiring from his role as Vice President of Scientific Research Grants & Programming at the Murdock Trust in January 2025.
“I have worked with few individuals more passionate, energetic, and genuinely knowledgeable about their work than Dr. Moses Lee,” says Romanita Hairston, CEO. “It is in this spirit that Moses truly embodies the legacy of our benefactor, Jack Murdock. While remaining deeply connected to his field and focused in his daily work, Moses has an ability to imagine what the scientific community could benefit from, and to create programs and gatherings that seek to meet those needs. He has developed a structure for our Scientific Research sector that I know will serve our community for years to come, and we are deeply grateful for his dedicated service. I know that Jack would be too.”
Dr. Lee joined the Murdock Trust as a program director in 2013, following an appointment as Dean of Natural and Applied Sciences at Hope College for eight years and, prior to that, Rose J. Forgione professor of chemistry at Furman University for 16 years. With a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Guelph, Dr. Lee has scientific expertise in treatments and vaccines for cancer, parasitic, and viral diseases, as well as a breadth of knowledge across other scientific disciplines. He worked with the Trust in various capacities for 12 years prior to joining as an employee, and throughout his career, he served in various capacities at the Research Corporation for Scientific Advancement, Petroleum Research Fund (PRF), National Science Foundation (NSF), and other scientific foundations.
During his time at the Trust, Dr. Lee oversaw our scientific research grantmaking, initiatives, and programming. Under his leadership, scientific research became one of our most developed sectors to date with a strategy for strengthening the scientific community of our region in key places. In addition to managing nearly 600 grants over his tenure, Dr. Lee evolved the Murdock College Science Research (MCSR) Program into a premiere grantmaking program and hallmark academic conference supporting college students and fostering year-round scientific inquiry.
“It has been an honor to watch Dr. Moses Lee carry the torch of scientific investment that Jack Murdock exemplified and that the Murdock Trust has kept lit ever since,” says Dr. Lynwood Swanson, Trustee Emeritus. “Moses has built programs and gatherings that are connecting our scientific community in ways they haven’t been before. I believe that, like Jack Murdock, Moses has permanently and positively changed the scientific landscape of the Pacific Northwest.”
Passionate about the potential for great innovation through collaboration, Dr. Lee spearheaded the Research Across Institutions for Scientific Empowerment (RAISE) initiative which funds research collaborations across institutions of various sizes. He convened leaders in scientific research and theological inquiry for creative discussions, created a Commercialization Initiative to support bringing bench discoveries to market at public universities and biomedical research institutes, and brought an eye for enhancement and excellence to the work he did daily. Thanks to Dr. Lee’s focused and faithful efforts over many years, institutions of all sizes – private and public undergraduate institutions, research universities, biomedical research institutes and many in between – have received support and been equipped for stronger, more collaborative research, all for the sake of the common good.
As we think of parting professional paths with Dr. Lee, we know that we will miss his incredible intelligence, his joyful hallway greetings, the eager pictures of his children and grandkids, and the vibrant way he lights up our office. We will miss him as our resident scientist, our hardworking colleague, and our dear friend.
Please join us in giving Dr. Lee a heartfelt and enthusiastic thank you for 12 years of connecting and strengthening the scientific community of the Pacific Northwest!
More information about the search through Carter Baldwin for filling the role of Vice President for Scientific Research Grants & Programming will be shared in the second week of August.
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