Kornbluth was born in Paterson, New Jersey, and grew up in Fair Lawn, New Jersey.^[2] She is Jewish.^[2] Her father George was an accountant^[2] and her mother, Marisa Galvany, was an opera singer.^[3]

Kornbluth received a Bachelor of Arts with a major in political science from Williams College in 1982 and a Bachelor of Science with a major in genetics from the University of Cambridge, in 1984. She received a Doctor of Philosophy in molecular oncology from the Rockefeller University in 1989.^[4]

While at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, she was a Herchel Smith Scholar. She worked at the laboratory of Hidesaburo Hanafusa when at Rockefeller University,^[5] and performed postdoctoral training with John Newport at the University of California, San Diego.^[6][7]

Duke University edit

Kornbluth joined the faculty at Duke University in 1994. Her research focuses on cell growth and programmed cell death and how cancer cells evade apoptosis.^[8][9] She is interested in the role of programmed cell death in regulating the length of female fertility in vertebrates, in a mechanism regulated by caspase-2.^[7][10][11]

At Duke she received a Research Mentoring award in 2012 and the Distinguished Faculty Award from the Duke Medical Alumni Association in 2013. She was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 2013.^[12]

In 2014 Kornbluth became Provost at Duke, the first woman to serve in this role.^[6][13] As Provost, she oversaw a leadership transition in which female Deans became a majority at Duke.^[14] She is an advocate of liberal arts education and has stated that her own experience in a liberal arts school at Williams College led her to a career in the sciences.^[15] She is also an advocate for on-line learning as a driver of pedagogic innovation.^[16]

She also served as Chair of the Board of Trustees at Duke Kunshan University,^[17] overseeing the appointment of Al Bloom as the university's Executive Vice Chancellor in 2020,^[18] and the launch of the WHU-Duke Research Institute in 2014.^[19]

Kornbluth served as provost from 2014 to 2022 and vice dean for basic sciences at Duke University School of Medicine from 2006 to 2014.^[12][4]

Massachusetts Institute of Technology edit

In 2022, Kornbluth was selected as the 18th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, succeeding L. Rafael Reif in this role in 2023.^[20][1] At her inauguration she outlined objectives for the institute including accelerating work on climate change and strengthening links between engineering and life sciences.^[21]

Following the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel,^[22] Kornbluth and the presidents of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University were called to testify before a December 2023 congressional hearing about antisemitism on their campuses.^[23] When asked by U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) whether calls for "genocide of Jews" was harassment under university policies, she responded, "If targeted at individuals, not making public statements."^[24][25] Kornbluth's statement has been described by Stefanik and others as antisemitic, leading to calls by some for Kornbluth's resignation.^[26]

• National Academy of Medicine^[2]
• National Academy of Inventors^[2]
• American Academy of Arts and Sciences^[2]

Kornbluth is married to Daniel Lew, a professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology at the Duke University School of Medicine. They have two children. Kornbluth is Jewish.^[2]