New Associate VP for Research named
The Vice President for Research Office at Utah State University announced the selection of Jeff Broadbent, professor of dairy microbiology, as the associate vice president for research.
Broadbent, who has worked in USU’s department of nutrition and food sciences since 1992, will begin his new role July 1. He will work 60 percent time in the Research Office and retain 40 percent effort in his own research lab.
“I’m excited about this opportunity, and I look forward to working with Vice President Miller to help bolster research at USU,” said Broadbent.
Broadbent succeeds Ann Aust, a biochemist who spent nearly two years in the Research Office after 17 years as a researcher and professor at USU. Aust retires from the university July 31.
“Ann Aust did an outstanding job in this role before Jeff, but I am confident that he will do the same, and I look forward to working with him,” said Brent Miller, vice president for research at USU. “Jeff will provide leadership for many USU research services, including sponsored programs, environmental health and safety,and human and animal research protections. He will also work to advance cross-department and cross-disciplinary research collaborations.”
Broadbent has spent more than two decades at USU, both as a student and professor. He graduated from USU with a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1987 and stayed to study nutrition and food science for his doctorate, which he earned in 1992.
An expert in genetics of lactic acid bacteria, Broadbent has spent nearly 15 years in USU’s department of nutrition and food sciences. He was an assistant professor from 1992-1998, an associate professor from 1998-2003 and was granted full professorship in 2003.
Broadbent has studied how lactic acid bacteria break down the protein, fat and sugar in milk, creating an acidic byproduct. One notable project involves manipulating enzymes used in dairy processing to produce cheeses that ripen more quickly and shred and melt better, without developing a bitter taste.
Broadbent’s excellence as a researcher has earned him at least a dozen major awards during his time at USU, including Researcher of the Year honors for his department and college, Teacher of the Year for the department of nutrition and food sciences in 1997 and the department’s four-year Winder Professorship in 2004. In addition, Broadbent has written dozens of articles for scholarly publications and has been successful in obtaining research funding since he began working at USU in 1992.
“Like the search committee, I too am impressed by Jeff’s scientific credentials and especially by the interpersonal and interdisciplinary skills that he will bring to this complex job,” said Miller. “I am very pleased to have Jeff Broadbent join us in the Research Office at USU.”