David Visi

Director of Federal Relations, Agency Engagement

David Visi serves as the Director of Federal Relations, Agency Engagement, where he focuses on representing the University of Tennessee System to the federal government. He supports the Assistant Vice President of Federal Relations on overall engagement with the White House, Congress, and Federal agencies and leads efforts to increase research and development opportunities and alignment between UT researchers and federal agencies.

Visi holds a doctorate in molecular biology and biochemistry from the University of North Texas. He was previously at The MITRE Corp. where he acted as a scientific expert on biotechnology and drug discovery and development with the Departments of Defense and Health and Human Services. He also was a Senior Associate with The Pew Charitable Trusts where he led efforts on the development of policies — both nationally and internationally to foster antibiotic innovation. David served as an AAAS Science and Technology Fellow at the Department of Defense, American Society of Microbiology Congressional Fellow, and a National Academies Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Graduate Fellow.