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 BA in Biology with honors from the University of California at Santa Cruz, where he studied immunology and physiology of elephant seals, and his Ph.D. 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 Prof. Dr. Yoshiharu Doi at the RIKEN Institute in Japan. Dr. 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 80 original articles in refereed scientific journals and book chapters, and holds 4 U.S. Patents. In 2011, he received the SUNY ESF Exemplary Researcher Award for his contributions to the field of biopolymer production and has received special recognition for his mentorship of student researchers. While at SUNY, Dr. Nomura worked with researchers across the SUNY system through the SUNY Networks of Excellence to foster collaborations between SUNY faculty and industry partners. Dr. Nomura’s research programs have been sponsored by NIH, NSF, DOE, USDA and NYSERDA.

In his current position as Vice President for Research and Economic Development (VPRED) at the University of Idaho, Dr. Nomura leads, highlights and works to advance the research programs and economic impacts of university research by leading initiatives to identify research opportunities and ensure that faculty and staff members have access to the resources needed to compete at a high level for extramural funding and build external collaborative partnerships. As VPRED, he is the Chief Research Officer of the institution and oversees the Office of Research and Economic Development (ORED) which is an umbrella for administrative, compliance and technical support functions for the research enterprise.