Francis Alonzo, PhD, Named Assistant Dean for Graduate Education
Bio
The University of Illinois College of Medicine is proud to share that Dr. Francis Alonzo, PhD, has been named Assistant Dean for Graduate Education effective August 19, 2025. Dr. Alonzo has been charged with providing strategic leadership and oversight for all UI COM master’s and PhD programs, with a primary focus on the Graduate Education in bioMedical Sciences (GEMS) PhD program. In this role, he is responsible for spearheading GEMS’ curricular initiatives in partnership with its faculty and leading the development of innovative mentoring resources to support graduate student success. In addition to direct graduate student support, he is responsible for building strategic partnerships with other academic institutions as well as industry leaders to promote UI COM’s graduate programs and attract prospective students.
Dr. Alonzo received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and his PhD from the University of Illinois College of Medicine. He subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship in host-microbe interactions at New York University Langone School of Medicine before becoming faculty at Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. In 2022, he moved his research lab from Loyola to UI COM, where he and his team have published foundational studies highlighting the critical intersections between microbial metabolism and infectious disease. In addition to his research, Dr. Alonzo is a dedicated mentor and teacher, having trained over 20 PhD, MS, MD/PhD, and postdoctoral researchers and having served as Director of Graduate Studies for the Microbiology, Immunity, and Inflammation concentration within GEMS. He is a passionate and experienced advocate for students and graduate education who champions the use of holistic review criteria to bolster equity in graduate admissions. His new position will allow him to work to further strengthen and support the GEMS program, engage with the wide range of graduate programs across the College of Medicine, and develop new initiatives to bolster graduate education.
When not at work, Dr. Alonzo embraces all the Chicago food scene has to offer and loves to spend quality time with his partner and energetic nephews.