Kirsten Limesand
Dr. Kirsten Limesand is the Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate College. In this role Dr. Limesand is responsible for excellence in graduate education and for the academic success of graduate students. She leads efforts to provide professional development and mentoring opportunities for students who are pursuing professional, research, and academic careers.
Dr. Limesand built a research career investigating the effects of radiation therapy for head and neck cancer in surrounding normal tissues such as the salivary gland. The resulting salivary gland dysfunction contributes to a multitude of side effects, including xerostomia, oral mucositis, and increased oral infections and caries, which diminishes the effectiveness of anti-cancer therapies, and decreases the quality of life for these patients. The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (a division of the National Institutes of Health) has continuously supported her team’s work since 2001 with the long-term goal to evaluate whether preventative or restorative interventions can be discovered in order to circumvent salivary gland dysfunction and xerostomia.
Dr. Limesand brings diverse experience stemming from her previous roles as the inaugural Assistant Dean for Graduate Education in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and Associate School Director in the School of Nutritional Sciences and Wellness. As Assistant Dean in CALS, she developed a strategic vision for graduate education, designed and implemented activity-informed TA and RA support, and created a professional development program for CALS graduate students that was funded through a public-private partnership.
Dr. Limesand grew up on a farm in Minnesota and is a first-generation student with a bachelor’s in microbiology from North Dakota State University. She obtained a doctorate in virology from Colorado State University and completed post-doctoral work in signal transduction at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Admin
Lori D'Anna
520-621-7815
ldanna@arizona.edu