Dr. Lawrence E. Hightower received his B.S. degree summa cum laude in chemistry from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 1968. He received his Ph.D. degree from Harvard University in biochemistry. After working for a year as an instructor in microbiology at University of Massachusetts Medical School, he was appointed assistantprofessor of biology at the University of Connecticut in 1975.

In 1997, Dr. Hightower was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for pioneering work on cellular stress responses. In 1998, he was presented the University of Connecticut Board of Trustees Outstanding Achievement Award. He was the founding president of the Cell Stress Society International and founding Editor-in-Chief of Cell Stress and Chaperones, the leading specialty journal in his field.

Dr. Hightower is currently professor and associate head of the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, and he teaches the popular Honors course, “Topics in Modern Biology.” He has helped MCB students with their academic programs as an Honors advisor and has advised several Honors students on their theses.