UC Davis Professor Kent Lloyd Appointed to National Institute of Health (NIH) Council of Councils

UC Davis is pleased to announce that Kent Lloyd, professor in the Department of Surgery, associate director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the director of the UC Davis Mouse Biology Program has been appointed to serve as a member on the National Institute of Health Council of Councils effective January 2022.

“It’s a great honor to be nominated by the NIH Office of the Director and invited by HHS Secretary Becerra to serve on this Council for the next six years,” said Lloyd.

Appointees to the NIH Council of Councils provide professional and expert advice to NIH leadership on numerous areas of activities and policies in the Director’s Office. The Council is made up of 27 members, selected from NIH Institutes and Centers Advisory Councils, representatives nominated by the Office of the Director program offices, and broad lay representation.

Speaking about his role, Lloyd said, “I look forward to providing input on issues related to my area of expertise, including animal modeling of human disease, rigor and reproducibility in science, mouse genetics, preclinical and translational medical research, veterinary medicine and academic teaching and training.”

This will be Lloyd’s second time serving as a Council member since his last appointment spanning from 2011 to 2014.

Vice Chancellor for Research Prasant Mohapatra commented, “This appointment is an apt reflection of the impact achieved by Kent Lloyd over his career and his broad expertise in health focused research.”

Lloyd brings to the Council over two decades of experience as an innovator in mouse models and genomic sciences that advance human and animal health through education, research and discovery. As the director of the UC Davis Mouse Biology Program, he oversees the development, manipulation, and study of transgenic and genetically-altered mutant mice as models of human disease and genetic variation.

Lloyd’s research focuses on understanding the in vivo function of genes and genetic elements and translating discoveries to improvements in human and animal health. He uses gene targeting and editing (CRISPR/Cas9) technologies to create and analyze genetic variants in mouse models. This work is essential for the evolution of precision medicine as a new paradigm in clinical decision-making and health care.

As a Council member, Lloyd would advise on matters related to the policies and activities of Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives, including making recommendations for the conduct and support of research that represents important areas of emerging scientific opportunities, rising public health challenges or knowledge gaps that deserve special emphasis. Additionally, as a strategic coordinator and planner, he would support additional research that involves collaboration between two or more national research institutes or national centers.

Lloyd has authored more than 180 scientific publications and serves as the Principal Investigator and Project Director of the Knockout Mouse Project, the Mutant Mouse Regional Resource Center, the Mouse Metabolic Phenotyping Center, and the Mouse Biology Shared Resource for the NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center at UC Davis.