Dr. Deborah Leckband is a Professor and Head of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in the University of Illinois. She received the B.S. degree in Chemistry (Valedictorian) from Humboldt State University in 1982 and the Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from Cornell University in 1988. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). Her research interests include intermolecular forces of biological systems and colloidal and surface chemistry.