Enrique De La Cruz, a professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry, will serve as the next head of Branford College, University President Peter Salovey announced Wednesday evening at a ceremony in the college’s dining hall.

De La Cruz will replace Brady-Johnson Professor of Grand Strategy Elizabeth Bradley, who in January announced that she would be leaving Yale at the end of the academic year to become the 11th president of Vassar College. He will serve a five-year term, effective July 1.

A first-generation Cuban-American, De La Cruz studied biology as an undergraduate at Rutgers University and earned his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine before coming to Yale as an assistant professor in 2001. His research on the proteins that drive cell movement, intracellular cargo transport and the folding and function of RNA have earned him international recognition. He has published more than 90 research papers and review articles, and has received numerous awards for both his research and teaching.

De La Cruz will move into Branford with his wife, who will serve as associate head of college, two sons, ages nine and five, and their cat.