Date September 8, 2026
Media Contact

31 accomplished scholars join Brown faculty as 2026-27 academic year begins

Representing a wide variety of disciplines and backgrounds, the faculty members join the Brown community to guide student-centered learning and engage in high-impact research.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — As the 2026-27 academic year begins at Brown University and more than 3,200 new undergraduate, graduate and medical students arrive on campus, the University also welcomes a group of 31 new scholars to the Brown faculty. 

With research and teaching expertise spanning topics from molecular biology and epidemiology to philosophy, economics and Native American and Indigenous studies, Brown’s newest faculty members represent a wide range of backgrounds, perspectives and academic interests.

"The extraordinary breadth of fields represented by our incoming faculty reflects Brown’s commitment to a world-class, cross-collaborative community,” said Brown Provost Francis J. Doyle III. “The depth of expertise across this cohort enriches our intellectual environment and expands our capacity to address complex global challenges from every angle. It is a privilege to welcome these exceptional scholars to College Hill."

The cohort of new faculty members, which includes tenured and tenure-track teaching and research faculty, as well as professors of the practice, will serve across the University’s academic departments, divisions and schools.

The full listing of new faculty, with links to their profiles, follows below.

Humanities and Social Sciences

Robyn Barrow
Assistant Professor of History of Art and Architecture

 

Pierre de Galbert
Assistant Teaching Professor of Education

 

Paula Donaldson
Assistant Professor of Economics

 

Jessica R. Fremland
Assistant Professor of American Studies

 

Eric Guindon 
Assistant Professor of the Practice of Philosophy

 

Sybil Kempson
Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies

 

Terence Nance
Assistant Professor of Literary Arts

 

Keitaro Okura
Assistant Professor of International and Public Affairs and Sociology

 

Pablo Ottonello
Thomas J. Watson, Jr. Family Professor of International Studies and the Social Sciences

 

Dev Patel
Peggy and Henry D. Sharpe Jr. Assistant Professor of Economics and Environmental Science

 

Fabrizio Perri
Orlando Bravo University Professor of Economics and Policy

 

Mack H. Scott III 
Assistant Teaching Professor of Native American and Indigenous Studies

 

Fabien Siles 
Assistant Teaching Professor of French and Francophone Studies

 

David Upegui 
Assistant Teaching Professor of Education

 

Jieyu Zhou 
Assistant Teaching Professor of East Asian Studies

Life and Physical Sciences

Saverio Cambioni
Assistant Professor of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Science

 

Tomo Lazovich
Assistant Professor of the Practice of Data Science

 

Benjamin Savitzky
Assistant Professor of the Practice of Data Science

 

Biology and Medicine

Fabian Fischer
Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

 

Pat Limbach
Professor of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry (Research Scholar)

 

Ted Wilson
Assistant Professor of Neuroscience

Engineering

Indie Garwood 
Assistant Professor of Engineering

 

Paul Murphy
Associate Professor of the Practice of Engineering

 

Alp M. Sunol
Assistant Professor of Engineering

Public Health

Larry Han
Assistant Professor of Biostatistics and Data Science

 

Gabby Headrick
Assistant Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences

 

Meredith Niles 
Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences 

 

Hayden Rooke-Ley
Assistant Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice

 

Sarah Rivero Skolnick
Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, Research Scholar 

 

Matthew Vogel
Professor of the Practice of Health Services, Policy and Practice 

International and Public Affairs

Nicole Pangborn
Assistant Teaching Professor of International and Public Affairs