Vice President for Research Eric Perreault to Step Down

Vice President for Research Eric Perreault will step down from the role at the end of April and return to his full-time role as a faculty member, Provost Kathleen Hagerty announced. Associate Provost for Faculty and Hugh Knowles Professor of Hearing Science Sumit Dhar will serve as interim Vice President for Research beginning May 1 and report directly to the provost.

Perreault, a professor of biomedical engineering at Northwestern Engineering and professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation in the Feinberg School of Medicine, was appointed vice president in 2023 and served an instrumental role in navigating an eight-month freeze on federal research grants in 2025. 

“Eric Perreault has led with determination and conviction during a time of incredible uncertainty for the University and especially our research community,” Interim President and President Emeritus Henry Bienen said. “We are grateful for his commitment to the people and the work that makes Northwestern one of the world’s great research institutions.”

Under Perreault’s leadership and despite the federal funding freeze, annual sponsored research funding exceeded $1 billion in Fiscal Year 2025 for the third consecutive year. Perreault also headed the establishment of a Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Steering Committee that led to the creation of the Northwestern Network for Collaborative Intelligence and supported the development of key research initiatives such as the Giant Magellan Telescope and the Ryan Family Research Acceleration Fund, which has awarded more than $8 million to help researchers translate their discoveries into the marketplace.

“I am incredibly proud of the work the Office for Research and its talented staff have done in the face of our unprecedented recent challenges,” Perreault said. “Research is fundamental to so much of what makes Northwestern special, and I am confident that our staff will remain dedicated partners in advancing Northwestern’s enterprise for groundbreaking research and discovery.”

Perreault joined the Northwestern faculty in 2002. Prior to his vice president role, he served as associate dean for research administration and oversight at McCormick. Perreault also previously served as chair of biomedical engineering at Northwestern, where he led the department’s expansion to Northwestern’s medical campus and assisted in establishing two new research centers that connect biomedical engineering faculty to collaborators across the University.

“Eric Perreault has been a tireless advocate for research at Northwestern, and we deeply appreciate his steady leadership,” Hagerty said. “Thanks in no small part to his contributions, Northwestern remains an institution where the world’s most ambitious researchers can achieve their greatest potential.”

The Office for Research advances the impact and eminence of Northwestern’s research programs by championing interdisciplinarity and collaboration, supporting individuals, and promoting communities that drive innovation and discovery across all fields. The office oversees 20 University Research Institutes and Centers, coordinating more than 50 core facilities, supporting innovation and entrepreneurship activities, and delivering research operations at scale to support Northwestern’s research community.