Marcela Castillo-Rama Named Assistant Chair of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Dr. Marcela Castillo-Rama has been named assistant chair of Berklee's Liberal Arts and Sciences Department. A physician and scientist with an extensive medical and research background, Castillo-Rama has been a Berklee faculty member since 2016. She began her new position in November, after serving in an interim role since September.

Before coming to Berklee, Castillo-Rama was a researcher at the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute at the University of Pittsburgh, and at Boston Children’s Hospital at Harvard. Her research has focused on liver disease and the role of the immune system in transplant rejection.

"Dr. Marcela Castillo-Rama brings significant experience and expertise to Berklee in areas including science, medicine, technology, research, and education. She is an impressive colleague and celebrated teacher who always keeps students at the center of her work," said Darla Hanley, dean of the Professional Education Division. "There is no question that the Liberal Arts and Sciences Department is in good hands with Marcela joining Dr. Mike Mason to complete its leadership team. It's a pleasure to promote Marcela to the position of assistant chair of Liberal Arts and Sciences."

Castillo-Rama has won three awards as a Berklee faculty member. In 2021, she won both the Exceptional Faculty Award and the Dean’s Award for Pedagogical Collaboration and Resource Development, and in 2020 she won the Dean’s Award for Innovation and Service. She received her medical degree from the University of Sheffield Faculty of Medicine in England and her Ph.D. and master’s degree in immunology with a focus on transplantation from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in Spain.

"Dr. Marcela Castillo-Rama is an outstanding teacher and scholar,” said Mike Mason, chair of the Liberal Arts and Sciences Department. “Through her training as a Ph.D. and an M.D., she is able to examine an issue through both a systemic lens and a human lens—a wonderful quality for any leader. Marcela brings intelligence and humor and is well-respected by students and faculty alike. We are thrilled to have her serve as assistant chair for Liberal Arts and Sciences.”