We are delighted to announce that Dr. Patrice Hamel has been promoted to the position of Full Professor. Dr. Hamel's lab is interested in the topic of membrane biogenesis, with a focus on membrane systems that are specialized in the transduction of energy in chloroplasts and mitochondria. Using the plant Arabidopsis thaliana and the freshwater alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as experimental systems, Dr. Hamel has dissected the assembly of mitochondrial Complex I, an enzyme involved in electron transfer with a goal  to discover novel assembly factors for this multimeric enzyme whose dysfunction is the most prevalent cause of mitochondrial diseases in humans. He has also examined disulfide bond formation and reduction in the thylakoid lumen, a compartment critical for photosynthesis. In addition to his research, Dr. Hamel has considerable expertise in teachign and outreach, and serves as the founder and director of the department's stuy abroad program in Trondheim Norway. We are so proud to have him as a colleague.