Christopher T. Nomura

Dr. Christopher T. Nomura is vice president for research and economic development and holds an academic appointment as professor of biochemistry in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Idaho. Prior to his current role at the University of Idaho, he served as the vice president for research and professor of biochemistry in the Department of Chemistry at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF). He received his bachelor’s degree in biology with honors from the University of California at Santa Cruz, where he studied immunology and physiology of elephant seals. He earned a doctorate in biochemistry, microbiology and molecular biology at The Pennsylvania State University for his research on cyanobacterial electron transport proteins and gene regulation. From 2001 to 2006, he worked in the internationally recognized Natural Polymer Chemistry laboratory of Professor Yoshiharu Doi at the RIKEN Institute in Japan. Nomura has a multi-disciplinary research group whose interests span the fields of molecular microbiology, microbial physiology, metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, protein engineering, biochemistry, synthetic chemistry and polymer chemistry with a focus on understanding gene regulation in bacteria and producing sustainable materials. Throughout his academic career, he has published and co-authored more than 70 original articles in refereed scientific journals and book chapters and holds four U.S. patents. In 2011, he received the SUNY ESF Exemplary Researcher Award for his contributions to biopolymer production and has received special recognition for his mentorship of student researchers. While at SUNY, Nomura worked with researchers to foster collaborations between SUNY faculty and industry partners. Nomura’s research programs have been sponsored by National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, USDA and New York State Energy Research and Development.