Distinguished Alumni > 2007 > Belinda P. Seto

Belinda P. Seto

• BS 1970, Biology, University of California, Davis
• PhD 1974, Biochemistry, Purdue University

Belinda Seto is the deputy director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), where she is responsible for the governance, oversight, and management of all aspects of the Institute’s research and training mission. She represents the Institute in a number of Federal government-wide committees, including the White House initiatives on manufacturing, research business model, and also serves as the Institute’s liaison to the Office of the Director on the NIH roadmap initiatives.
Seto completed postdoctoral training in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and then joined the Food and Drug Administration where she conducted research in virology for nearly 10 years. She received numerous awards for her research, including the DHHS Secretary's Award for Exceptional Achievement, Inventor’s Awards, NIH Director’s awards and she is listed in the American Men and Women of Science.
Currently, Seto is actively involved in international collaborations in science. She serves on the international advisory board for the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and for the Chinese University in Hong Kong. She is a member of the U.S.-China Roundtable on Data Sharing.  These activities allow her to reconnect with her roots.  Seto grew up in Hong Kong where she received her education until secondary school.
She and her husband, William G.Coleman, a fellow Purdue grad, have three daughters.  They proudly say that the children are their most successful experiments.  In addition to her career and family life, Seto is also very active in social/political activities, championing social equality, education and career opportunities in science and engineering for women and under-represented minorities, education for students with disabilities, and access to social services.
She says that her favorite Purdue memory was the evenings of brainstorming about science and politics with fellow graduate students. Often, these sessions ended at 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. at the Dunkin Donuts shop on Highway 52.

 

Career Highlights
2003–present	Deputy Director, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
1999–2002	Deputy Director, Office of Extramural Research, Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health
1994–2002	Director, Office of Reports and Analysis, Office of Extramural Research, Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health