Thomas Baldwin

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The University of Arizona has lost a premier biochemistry researcher, who cited a continued lack of state support as one of his main reasons for heading to California.

Thomas Baldwin, who also founded one of the university's leading research institutes, will become the dean of the University of California-Riverside's College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences in July.

The head of the UA's biochemistry and molecular biophysics department, Baldwin is the latest UA loss to a phenomenon known as brain drain, in which distinguished faculty members move to other institutions that offer more money and support.

While the opportunity to become a dean is a major step up in his profession, Baldwin said the recurring cuts to the UA's budget played a central role in his decision to leave.

"There's no doubt about it," he said. "I've been at the UA for nine years and taken cuts for seven of them."

Despite the cuts, the UA has proved resilient during times of economic hardship and is still one of the nation's best research institutions, Baldwin said.

"The University of Arizona is an absolutely phenomenal university with a world-class faculty and incredible students," he said. "Everything is going the right way except state support."

At the UA, Baldwin earned $166,544. As dean of the science college at UC-Riverside, he will earn a base salary of $235,000.

Baldwin, 61, has been recognized for his research into protein folding, a process that occurs in organisms when protein assumes three-dimensional structures.

Abnormalities in the folding can lead to illnesses such as Parkinson's disease and mad-cow disease.

UC-Riverside's combination of agricultural and natural sciences under one roof is unique and should provide for some exciting research and collaboration, Baldwin said.

The collaboration at UC-Riverside's science college is similar to the UA's Bio5 Institute, which Baldwin founded in 2001.

Initially known as the Institute for Biomedical Science and Biotechnology, Bio5 combines researchers from five academic disciplines — agriculture, medicine, pharmacy, basic science and engineering — to work with industry leaders to find solutions to common problems such as disease.

In January, the institute landed a five-year, $50 million federal grant to create a research center, known as the iPlant Collaborative, dedicated to answering questions about plant biology.

The funding from the National Science Foundation is widely considered the single largest research grant in Arizona history.

Bio5 also was recognized recently as a model for turning on-campus research into practical products that can be sold for profit.

Vicki Chandler, the current director of Bio5, was conducting field research and couldn't comment on Baldwin's departure, said Deborah Daun, the institute's spokeswoman.

In a press release, UC-Riverside's acting chancellor praised Baldwin's hiring and said his leadership and scholarship will serve the university well.

"His scientific reputation and commitment to excellence make him an ideal choice to lead the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences," Acting Chancellor Robert Grey said in the release.

Baldwin, who is originally from Mississippi, holds a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a doctoral degree in zoology, both from the University of Texas-Austin.

After he received postdoctoral training at Harvard University, Baldwin began teaching biochemistry at the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign. He later moved to Texas A&M University and came to the UA in 1999.