Colin Combs named associate vice president for Research & Economic Development

The Division of Research & Economic Development has announced the appointment of Colin Combs, Ph.D., as associate vice president for Research & Economic Development, effective Dec. 5, 2024.

Combs is a Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences in UND’s School of Medicine & Health Sciences.

“On behalf of the Division of Research & Economic Development, I want to extend a warm welcome to Dr. Combs,” said Scott Snyder, vice president for Research & Economic Development. “Combs’ unique perspectives and skills will be instrumental in driving our mission forward.”

Combs graduate from Berea College in Berea, Ky., with a B.A. in chemistry and completed his Ph.D. training in neurobiology and anatomy at the University of Rochester, in Rochester, N.Y. He finished a postdoctoral fellowship in the Alzheimer’s Research Laboratory in the Department of Neuroscience at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, before assuming an assistant professor position in the former Department of Pharmacology, Physiology & Therapeutics at UND in 2000.

Combs serves as the chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences and associate dean for research in the School of Medicine & Health Sciences and has helped stimulate an increase in scholarship and extramural research support within the department and across the school.

At UND, Combs has also served as a Grand Challenge Champion, an EPSCoR Research Lead and a COBRE PI. He has been involved in supporting diverse initiatives promoting increased scholarship and funding within UND. He maintains an active, extramurally funded research program focusing on issues related to aging, neurodegenerative diseases and interactions between the nervous system and immune systems.