As the associate vice president for research and innovation for the UH System, Chad Walton directs major systemwide research programs and initiatives aligned with UH’s strategic direction and metrics, including STEM education, small business innovation programs, and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research/Institutional Development Award.

Walton will work on developing research and workforce/economic development programs to increase community/industry support and strengthen UH‘s technology transfer efforts. He will also work with the UH Foundation to oversee the development of the UH System Office of Strategic Philanthropic Partnerships.

Prior to joining OVPRI, Walton previously served as assistant vice provost for research and scholarship at UH Mānoa, where he led strategic research development initiatives, including the materials science initiative that secured major funding and drew campus-wide faculty participation within the first year.

Walton is a trained bioengineer who developed technology for National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health-funded grants, with expertise in vaccine development, acoustics-based gene delivery, and molecular cardiology, holding several U.S. patents. He earned degrees from Northern Arizona University, University of Calgary and UH Mānoa. After earning his PhD, Walton worked at the John A. Burns School of Medicine before moving to the Department of Surgery, where he served as trauma research director for Hawaiʻi’s Trauma System.