The UP Board of Regents appointed Prof. Lyre Anni E. Murao as the 6th Chancellor of UP Mindanao during its 1368th meeting on 24 February 2022. 

Prof. Murao proposed her vision paper with the title, “We Rise: UP Mindanao at the Forefront of 21st Century Transformation.” Her vision for UP Mindanao is captured by the word RAISE, an acronym for Respect and integrity, Academic freedom and accountability, Inclusivity and collective significance, Social responsibility, and Excellence. 

Lyre Anni Espada Murao is Professor 3 at the Department of Biological Sciences and Environmental Studies, College of Science and Mathematics.  Her fields of specializations are in human and animal infectious diseases, drug discovery and development. She has authored numerous refereed publications and presented countless papers in these fields.

Prof. Murao finished Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (cum laude) in UP Diliman. She first joined UP Mindanao as an Instructor in 1999, handling General Biology, Genetics, and Cell Biology courses. She left in 2002 to pursue a Master of Science in Microbiology degree at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA. She returned to UP Mindanao in 2004 as a Lecturer. In 2007, she left again to pursue her doctoral degree in Medical Sciences from Nagasaki University, Japan. 

After earning her PhD, she joined Aratana Therapeutics NV in Belgium as a postdoctoral fellow and later as a Senior Research Associate. While there, she led a five-member team for the development of novel antiviral drugs.

In 2015, Prof. Murao returned to UP Mindanao as an Associate Professor. She was appointed Program Director of the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) Mindanao in 2019. She led the capacity building and research activities of the PGC Mindanao as well as the establishment of the Mindanao Genomics Consortium. The pandemic underscored the invaluable role of PGC Mindanao in capacitating several RT-PCR testing laboratories. Prof. Murao facilitated collaborations with local government institutions in aid of COVID-19 and ASF response during both outbreaks in Mindanao.