Dr. David W. Russell is Professor of Molecular Genetics, as well as Vice Provost and Dean of Basic Research. He holds the Eugene McDermott Distinguished Chair in Molecular Genetics. His research interests are in lipid metabolism, in particular the enzymatic pathways that dispose of cholesterol. Dr. Russell and Dr. Joseph Sambrook (who was on the UT Southwestern faculty from 1985 to 1994) are authors of the definitive and best-selling molecular biology cloning manual, “Molecular Cloning,” published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. He joined the faculty of UT Southwestern in 1982, and has been honored with election to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.