Overview
Chrissa Kioussi, PhD, brings a distinguished record of scientific leadership and research excellence to her new role as Dean of the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. An internationally trained molecular geneticist, Dr. Kioussi’s research explores how genes and cells cooperate to drive organ formation and regeneration — work that has earned her more than $8 million in direct research funding and oversight of over $30 million in grants and contracts throughout her career. She has authored more than 70 peer-reviewed publications, amassing nearly 6,000 citations, and her contributions have been recognized with honors including the Oregon Medical Research Foundation Award, the March of Dimes New Investigator Award, an American Heart Association Grant-in-Aid, and a prestigious Marie Curie Fellowship.
Prior to joining Northeastern, Dr. Kioussi served as Professor and Chair of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Oregon State University, where she led substantial growth in research productivity, graduate education, and program innovation. Under her leadership, the department expanded an NIH T32-supported graduate training program, launched a new online MS program, and established the Center for Innovative Drug Delivery and Imaging. Her strategic approach to faculty recruitment strengthened statewide drug-delivery research capacity and helped drive $11 million in subsequent research expenditures — a track record that speaks directly to the kind of institutional growth and cross-disciplinary integration she’s poised to bring to her new post.
Dr. Kioussi’s academic training spans some of the world’s leading research institutions. She earned her PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology through the Hellenic Pasteur Institute and the University of Patras in Greece, and her BS in Biology from the University of Athens, before completing advanced research training — mentored by two Nobel Prize laureates — at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, University College London, the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at UC San Diego. She is also a Leadership Fellow of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, reflecting a career-long commitment to advancing pharmacy education alongside scientific discovery.
