Stephen L. Mayo

Stephen L. Mayo, PhD, was elected to the Board in November 2021.

Dr. Mayo is the Bren Professor of Biology and Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He holds joint appointments in the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering and the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. He joined the Caltech faculty in 1992 and served as Vice Provost for Research (2007-2010) and Chair of the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering (2010-2020). Dr. Mayo's research focuses on the development of computational approaches to protein engineering – a field that has broad applications ranging from advanced biofuels to human therapeutics. In 2004, he was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences for his pioneering contributions in the field of protein design.

Dr. Mayo has co-founded several companies: Molecular Simulations Inc. (now BIOVIA), Xencor, Inc. and, Protabit LLC, where he serves on the scientific advisory board. He is currently serving on the Merck Board of Directors and on the Scientific Advisory Board of Rubryc Therapeutics, Inc.

In addition to his academic and private-sector work, Dr. Mayo has held a number of significant positions including serving as an elected Board Member at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2010-2014) and serving as a presidential appointee to NSF’s National Science Board (2013-2018).

Dr. Mayo received his undergraduate degree in chemistry from the Pennsylvania State University, his Ph.D. in chemistry from Caltech, and did postdoctoral work at both UC Berkeley and Stanford University School of Medicine.