Dr. Lara Campbell has been working to promote scientific development and innovation around the world for almost twenty years. She is passionate about helping creative people acquire the resources, understanding and connectivity needed to turn great ideas into innovations with real commercial potential.

In addition to her work with ACIR, Lara serves as the Program Director for the Middle East and Africa in the US National Science Foundation’s Office of International Science and Engineering where she is responsible for facilitating international collaboration by the Foundation and the scientists it supports across her portfolio regions. Prior to joining NSF, Lara was Director of the CUBRC Center for International Science and Technology Advancement (CISTA), where her responsibilities include developing, managing and assessing international research collaborations, especially efforts focused on scientific and economic growth in the developing world. Prior to joining ACIR, Lara was a Senior Program Associate at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) where as part of the Research Competitiveness Program she provided programmatic peer review advice and guidance.

Lara has a particular interest in promoting regional and local networks and collaborations that lead to innovation growth and spent a year (2008-2009) as a Fulbright scholar in the Middle East investigating the factors that will promote dynamic innovation ecosystems in the region.

Lara holds a Bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Rice University in Houston, Texas and a Ph.D. in synthetic organic and bio-organic chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin. Lara conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Texas and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the US National Institutes of Health.