The University of Iowa will host the first of three finalists for the vice president for research and economic development position.

Brian Herman, a biologist at the University of Texas-San Antonio and a special assistant to the president at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, will participate in a public forum on Monday, May 21, during which he will outline his vision for the vice president position at the UI and take questions from the audience.

The forum will take place at 3 p.m. in the Illinois Room of the Iowa Memorial Union (348 IMU).

Herman also will meet with university faculty, staff, and administration leaders during his campus visit.

Herman currently serves as a UT System Chancellor's Health Fellow in Collaboration and as professor in the Department of Cellular and Structural Biology. He received his undergraduate degree in biology from Adelphi University and earned his doctorate from the University of Connecticut. He also was a post-doctoral researcher at Harvard Medical School.

See the vice president search website for Herman’s curriculum vitae and additional information about the UI position.

Herman’s research focuses on the relationship between apoptosis (cell suicide) and aging. Among his lab’s findings is that aging is accompanied by up regulation of the activity of the intrinsic pathway of apoptosis.

Two other candidates will visit the university campus. The second candidate’s public forum is scheduled for May 24, and the third candidate is expected to present on June 11. The successful candidate will succeed Jordan Cohen, who has served as the vice president for research and economic development since 2010.

Details about each candidate will be made available one day before each campus visit.