Dr Santa Ono is the EIT Oxford & Global President. He will oversee the development and expansion the science programs at EIT Oxford.

At the University of Michigan, where Prof. Ono most recently served as president, he launched the University of Michigan Center for Innovation (UMCI) in Detroit - a transformative hub for inclusive economic growth, technology development, and urban revitalization. He also consolidated several AI-focused institutes and led the university into strategic research partnerships with OpenAI and Los Alamos National Laboratory, significantly advancing Michigan’s leadership in artificial intelligence and advanced computing.

He was appointed by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and the Grow Michigan Together Council, where he contributed to long-term policy for economic development, workforce strategy, and innovation infrastructure. Ono has also led the University of British Columbia and the University of Cincinnati, and has held faculty appointments at Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Emory, and University College London.

He is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Inventors, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.