Biology Professor Carlos Machado Named CMNS Associate Dean for Research
University of Maryland Biology Professor Carlos Machado has been named associate dean for research in the university’s College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences (CMNS), effective July 1, 2025.
“Carlos Machado’s remarkable and sustained success in securing extramural funding makes him exceptionally qualified to spearhead the research-related objectives of our new CMNS Strategic Plan,” said CMNS Dean Amitabh Varshney. “I am thrilled to welcome him to the Dean's office in this pivotal leadership role and confident in his ability to drive our vision forward."
This summer, CMNS will release its 2025-2030 strategic plan, which includes two pillars related to research: We advance scientific discovery and address humanity’s grand challenges, and we partner to advance the public good. As associate dean for research, Machado will support the college’s strategic goal of leading the region, nation and world in scientific innovation and cutting-edge initiatives that advance the sciences.
He will help grow the college’s sponsored research funding, which has exceeded $200 million annually for the past seven years. He will also work closely with the college’s leadership team, department chairs, and research institute and center directors to enhance all research and entrepreneurial activities.
“I am excited and honored to serve all my colleagues and the college in this position,” Machado said. “I look forward to working with units and researchers across CMNS to strengthen and enhance our visibility and impact in existing and new key research areas. I also want to focus on supporting junior faculty, who are the future of our institution, and helping them navigate this challenging funding environment.”
Machado joined UMD in 2009 as an associate professor and was promoted to professor in 2016. He directed the Behavior, Ecology, Evolution and Systematics interdisciplinary graduate program from 2013 to 2015. As an evolutionary biologist, Machado studies the genetics of species divergence, plant-insect coevolution and evolutionary genomics.
In his current research, he uses genomic, population genetic, phylogenetic and functional genomic approaches to study species and genome divergence. Work in Machado’s lab involves field collections, molecular biology methods and computational approaches to analyze large genomic datasets. He has been continuously funded by the National Science Foundation since 2005.
Machado has authored more than 60 peer-reviewed publications and advised more than 50 postdocs and graduate, undergraduate and high school students. He serves as an associate editor of coevolution for the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, as a review editor for evolutionary and population genetics for the journal Frontiers in Genetics, and on the editorial board of the journal Fly.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from Universidad Nacional de Colombia in 1992 and his Ph.D. in evolutionary genetics from the University of California, Irvine in 1998. Before arriving at UMD, Machado held a faculty position at the University of Arizona.
Machado assumes the role from Physics Professor Wolfgang Losert, who served in an interim capacity since April 2024. During his tenure, Losert organized the external reviews of multiple departments, contributed to the development of the new CMNS Strategic Plan 2025-2030, and supported new cross-disciplinary collaborations, including co-hosting a series of artificial intelligence research technology focus groups with the Division of Information Technology.
