Susan Powell
Assistant Director, Lewis Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics
Susan Powell, assistant director of the Lewis Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, has been a Princeton staff member since 1998. She worked as the grants manager in the chemistry and 
molecular biology departments before assuming her current position in 2002. Susan played an instrumental administrative role in coordinating the building of the Carl Icahn Laboratory and establishing the Institute in 2004. . The Institute, which fosters innovation in research and teaching of modern biology and quantitative sciences, is the hub of the Center for Quantitative Biology, funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) through the National Institutes of Health.
As the administrative head of the Institute, Susan works closely with David Botstein, the Anthony B. Evnin ’62 Professor of Genomics and Director of the Institute, providing high-level support to advance the research and teaching mission of the Institute. Susan is responsible for all financial, grant and personnel management. She also supervises a number of professional staff members, is responsible for hiring all personnel and manages building operations. She is the “go-to” person for the approximately 200 administrative, research and technical staff and faculty affiliated with the Institute.
In 2008, Susan was ho
nored as a recipient of the President’s Achievement Award for her support to students, faculty and staff. In his nomination, David Botstein wrote, “Susan is an all around outstanding administrator and deserves extraordinary recognition for an extraordinary level of excellence and innovation in her work…She has been very creative in thinking of ways to fund, for instance, research and teaching infrastructure, and has contributed many of the ideas that ultimately have been accepted by funders."
Susan served as the co–chair of the Academic Managers’ Group (AMG) Steering Committee from 2003 to 2005. Currently, she serves on the President’s Achievement Award Selection Committee and the Princeton Diversity Council.
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