Marie Lynn Miranda

Marie Lynn Miranda (born 1963) is an American economist, data scientist, and academic administrator. She became the tenth chancellor of the University of Illinois Chicago and a vice president of the University of Illinois System in July 2023. She previously served as provost and professor of applied computational mathematics and statistics at the University of Notre Dame. A self-taught toxicologist and environmental scientist, Miranda researches children's environmental health and geospatial health informatics. Her research through the Children's Environmental Health Initiative has informed CDC and EPA policy on childhood lead exposure. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and was recognized as a 2023 Woman of Note by Crain's Chicago Business.

Early life and education Miranda was born in 1963. She is the first member of her family to be born in the United States. In 1961, her parents and three brothers moved to South Bend, Indiana from Goa while her father, Constancio Miranda, was studying civil engineering. She attended Catholic schools in Detroit. Peter Timmer, Lawrence Goulder, and Jerry Green served on her doctoral committee. Miranda was the founding director of the Children's Environmental Health Initiative (CEHI).

From 2012 to 2015, Miranda was the Samuel A. Graham dean of the school of natural resources and environment at University of Michigan. She also directed the planning and implementation of $230 million in strategic investments. When Hurricane Harvey struck Houston in August 2017, Miranda led the university's initial emergency response and later established the Hurricane Harvey Registry to track the storm's long-term health and housing impacts on the greater Houston community.

From July 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021, Miranda was the Charles and Jill Fischer Provost of the University of Notre Dame. She succeeded Thomas G. Burish to become the first woman and person of color to serve in the position. She was also a professor of applied computational mathematics and statistics at Notre Dame.

In July 2023, Miranda became the tenth chancellor of the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC).

Student success. The university's top priority is student success, with an emphasis on recruitment, retention, and graduation, while fostering a sense of belonging and connection among undergraduate, professional, and graduate students. Research infrastructure. A second priority is strengthening research infrastructure to position UIC at the forefront of knowledge creation and discovery. Community engagement. Miranda has identified engagement with UIC's surrounding community as a core priority, focused on expanding access to educational opportunities and clinical care in underserved communities to advance equity, efficiency, and sustainability. Partnerships. Another priority is building partnerships with businesses and nonprofit organizations to expand faculty opportunities and strengthen student engagement, internships, and employment pathways. Faculty and staff excellence. The final priority is recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty and staff, with an emphasis on ensuring that those who contribute to the university's success feel valued, supported, and motivated.

Research and Impact Miranda continues to direct the Children's Environmental Health Initiative (CEHI), which she founded in 1998. Her research focuses on geospatial health informatics and children's environmental health, with over 135 peer-reviewed publications and more than $65 million in federal, corporate, and foundation funding as principal or co-principal investigator.

CEHI's work on childhood lead exposure has had a significant policy impact. The initiative's research linking lead exposure to performance on standardized tests contributed to the CDC's decision to set a stricter standard for childhood blood lead levels. CEHI also identified lead in aviation gasoline as a contributor to elevated blood lead levels in children living near airports, with a landmark 2011 study published in Environmental Health Perspectives demonstrating associations between proximity to airports and higher childhood blood lead levels. This work informed ongoing policy discussions and the EPA's 2023 endangerment finding on leaded aviation gasoline.

In 2008, CEHI received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Justice Achievement Award. They have three children, two English Setters, and roughly 500,000 honeybees.