Dr. Joseph A. Whittaker is the VP for Research & Economic Development and Associate Provost at Jackson State University (JSU). He has primary responsibility for the research enterprise and federal relations. Prior to JSU, Dr. Whittaker served as Dean and Professor of the School of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences at Morgan State University (MSU) and Associate Director of the NASA GESTAR Program at the Goddard Space Flight Center. He also served on a number of review panels for multiple federal agencies, and was elected the 73rd President of Sigma Xi Scientific Research and Honor Society. He is also one of the founders of the Morehouse School of Medicine Neuroscience Institute. Dr. Whittaker received his Ph.D. in Physiology and Biophysics from Howard University and completed a Neurobiology Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center.