Membership
WittKieffer Welcomes Andrew Bean, Ph.D. and Daniel Flynn, Ph.D. to Expand Capabilities in Research Leadership Recruiting and Advising
WittKieffer recently welcomed Andrew Bean, Ph.D., and Daniel Flynn, Ph.D. to expand its capabilities in the recruitment and advising of research leaders within academic medicine. Both come to the firm as accomplished researchers, administrators, and executive recruiters.
Research executives such as Vice Provosts/Vice Presidents of Research and Chief Scientific Officers play critical roles within academic medical institutions today, charged with ensuring the research activities of the institution are supported, effective, and strategically aligned with the goals and mission of the larger organizations while helping to navigate a shifting regulatory and funding environment. "This may be the most challenging time ever for research leaders and the institutions they serve," stated Kimberly Smith, Executive Partner of WittKieffer's Academic Medicine Practice. "With uncertainty around funding, government support for research, emerging technologies, and more, research-intensive universities and research institutes require exceptional research leadership. We are extremely fortunate to welcome Andy and Dan to WittKieffer to support institutions in shaping these roles and identifying executives to fill them, and to support leaders themselves with strategic advising and coaching. Both Andy and Dan have had distinguished careers and broad experiences that will allow them to make immediate and important contributions to our team."
Andrew Bean, Ph.D. is an accomplished academic administrator, researcher, and educator with nearly three decades of experience within academic medicine. Most recently he was Vice Provost for Research at Rush University as well as Dean of the Rush University Graduate College in Chicago. As Vice Provost, Dr. Bean was responsible for development and implementation of a strategic plan for basic, translational, and clinical research to enable the research enterprise to reach aspirational goals. Before that, he was Professor and served as Associate Dean at the MD Anderson/University of Texas Health Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. He earned a doctoral degree from Yale University and served postdoctoral fellowships at Stanford University, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, and Sweden’s famed Karolinska Institute.
Daniel Flynn, Ph.D. has an extensive background as a researcher, research administrator, educator, and entrepreneur, with particular expertise in the field of cancer cell biology. He was an NIH-funded research scientist for 20 years, published 70 scientific reports, working in the fields of virology, cancer cell biology, and breast cancer invasion, and held major federal funding with programmatic research grants as a principal investigator. As an administrator, Dr. Flynn has held the positions of Department Chair, Research Dean, and Vice President of Research at academic medical centers and universities. He was part of a team that founded and established The Commonwealth Medical College (now known as The Geisinger Medical College). As Vice President of Research at Florida Atlantic University for nearly a decade, he led efforts to transition FAU toward R1 designation, which was achieved in 2024. Dr. Flynn obtained his B.S. from the University of Maryland, College Park (Microbiology), Ph.D. from North Carolina State University (Virology), and post-doctoral fellow at the University of Virginia Cancer Center.
