Last Thursday, the Dean’s Professor of Microbiology and Immunology Stephen Dewhurst, Ph.D. was named Senior Associate Dean for Basic Research at URMC. The appointment will become effective on March 1 following approval by UR Board of Trustees.
Dewhurst will begin his term in April to replace Howard Federoff, M.D., Ph.D. who has since become Executive Dean of the School of Medicine at Georgetown University.
“I am very pleased to be able to announce Dr. Dewhurst’s appointment because he is a successful, veteran researcher who is highly respected by his peers, as well as an award-winning educator,” Dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry David S. Guzick, M.D., Ph.D. said.
His new position will entail creating a dynamic research environment and supporting multi-disciplinary collaboration, as well as working on new treatments for major diseases by utilizing basic principles of science.
Dewhurst began his Rochester career in 1990 by joining the URMC faculty. In 2002, he became the Dean’s Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, following with the addition of Associate Chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology in 2005.
Both Dewhurst’s doctoral and post-doctoral work focused on how viruses like HIV cause disease, and he has continued that research well into his time at UR.
Dewhurst has had more than 20 years experience as a molecular virologist, working on developing new vaccines against HIV and herpes. He was also a member of a team that in October of 2006 received a generous NIH grant to develop experimental drugs for neuroAIDS.
“Given his obvious leadership abilities and knowledge of this institution, Dr. Dewhurst is the right individual to take basic research, a cornerstone of the scientific enterprise in Rochester, to the next level,” CEO of URMC and Strong Health Bradford Berk, M.D. Ph.D. said. Halusic is a member of the class of 2010.
