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This week’s Org Chart column contains recent appointments of faculty members to top positions in departments, a university center and an institute.

Dateline ����������������� welcomes news of appointments of various kinds for faculty and staff, for publication in Org Chart (formerly titled Transitions). Send information to dateline@ucdavis.edu.

Center for Regional Change faculty advisor

The , or CRC, is entering a new chapter, focused on renewing its mission and driving meaningful change for both the campus and the communities it serves. As part of this new direction, the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences has appointed Professor Michael Rios to help guide the CRC’s framework.

In his new role as faculty advisor, Rios will lead a year-long process to help refresh the CRC’s mission, clarify what the center offers to both academic and community partners, expand opportunities for faculty and students, identify untapped funding resources and enhance operations.

“One of the goals is to gather interest around the CRC, envision what it looks like moving forward and be able to, when done, have a strong mission that is supported by a community of faculty. This will set the stage to invite faculty from across the college to write the next chapter of the CRC in ways that is responsive to community and societal issues,” Rios said.

Department of Human Ecology chair

The ����������������� College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences has named Professor Adrienne Nishina as the new chair of the Department of Human Ecology. She started her new role July 1.

Nishina has been with the department’s faculty since 2006. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, as well as a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, from UCLA.

Nishina’s research focuses on adolescent peer relationships, and she explores how having friends from different ethnic backgrounds impacts overall well-being and development. She has also published studies on the personal and surrounding factors that influence how bullying can lead to issues with mental health, physical health and school performance. She also enjoys sharing her research techniques with students in her courses, for example, HDE 120: Research Methods, which helps students understand and evaluate research in human development. 

Department of Nutrition chair

The ����������������� College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences has named Professor Gerardo Mackenzie as the chair of the Department of Nutrition.

Mackenzie has been with the department faculty since 2016. Before that, he spent nine years as an investigator and faculty member with the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He earned his bachelor’s degree, as well as a Ph.D. in cell biology, from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Mackenzie’s research focuses on nutritional science, particularly the role of diet in cancer development, prevention and treatment. He’s currently studying the impact of dietary interventions, such as the ketogenic diet, alongside chemotherapy as a novel treatment for pancreatic cancer. He’s also examining the role of diets with different fatty acid composition and its impact in cancer development and progression.

MIND Institute director

Professor of has been appointed director of the . Stahmer is a clinical psychologist, autism expert and director of the MIND Institute’s . She began the new role on Sept. 1.

Stahmer is a nationally recognized expert in autism intervention. Her extensive federally funded research program emphasizes increasing access to autism services for historically marginalized communities. She has published more than 150 research articles and served as the editor of the international journal for 11 years.