As Associate Provost for Research Development and Administration at SUNY Oswego, Bowers oversees the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP), which is responsible for the development, coordination and management of all contracts, internal and external research grants, and research-related committees at SUNY Oswego. In his role, Bowers assists faculty/staff/students to identify research, scholarly, and creative funding opportunities; encourages collaboration, particularly across disciplines; serves an ex officio role on faculty advisory committees; networks with funding agencies, foundations and other granting entities; and promotes and advocates for the research agenda on campus both to the campus administration, as well as the research community.
Prior to joining SUNY Oswego in 2014, Bowers worked as Associate Director of Research at Vaccinex, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company in Rochester, NY. Before that industry position, he was a faculty member for over 12 years at the University of Rochester performing federally funded research focused on understanding and treating the neuroinflammatory mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s disease. He has published 85 peer-reviewed journal articles and 22 review papers and book chapters in the fields of molecular virology and neuroscience. He earned his bachelor of science (B.S) in Biotechnology from Rochester Institute of Technology, and his master’s of science (M.S.) and Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from University of Rochester.