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Mark Weathers, MBA, who has more than nine years of higher education and 28 years of military leadership, has been named the inaugural chief operating officer for the University of Virginia’s Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology. Weathers will provide day-to-day strategic and operational oversight and expertise for all administrative aspects of the institute, as well as help build partnerships and serve as a spokesperson. He will begin his new role Dec. 29.

Weathers will move to the Manning Institute from the UVA School of Medicine, where he has served as chief of staff since 2022 and assisted School of Medicine and health system leadership with the selection of the institute’s architecture and construction firms. He previously served as the U.S. Military Academy’s chief operating officer from 2018-19 and as the academy’s chief of staff from 2019-22, capping a 28-year career in the Army. 

“Mark Weathers has helped us launch the institute, and that background — combined with his leadership experience both here at UVA and in the military — makes him an ideal fit for this new role,” said Mark T. Esser, PhD, chief scientific officer and head of the Manning Institute. “I am excited to partner with him as we develop the Manning Institute into a leader in biomedical research that brings lifesaving treatments to patients across Virginia and beyond.”

The Manning Institute already is operating virtually, making discoveries — including a potential way to prevent brain injuries from causing Alzheimer’s — that will serve as the foundation for new treatments and cures. The institute’s 350,000-square-foot facility at Fontaine Research Park, scheduled to open in 2027, will become the nerve center for biotechnology research, development, and manufacturing at UVA. High-tech research facilities and state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities will come together under one roof, with the goal of bringing cutting-edge treatments to the bedside sooner.

Having helped guide some of the Manning Institute’s early development, Weathers is looking forward to devoting his full-time energies to the institute’s continued growth.

“The Manning Institute has enormous potential to improve the health of patients across Virginia and around the world,” he said. “I am looking forward to working with Mark Esser to develop partnerships to strengthen the institute, as well as support our talented researchers as they make breakthroughs that improve the human condition.”