FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                               

For more information, contact:

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Sheila Champlin – (901) 448-4957, schampli@uthsc.edu

 

 

Gerald Byrne, PhD, Named Director of Regional Biocontainment Lab,

Steps Down as Chair of Microbiology, Immunology and Biochemistry at

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

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Michael Whitt, PhD, Named Interim Chair,

Microbiology, Immunology and Biochemistry at UTHSC

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            Memphis, Tenn. (January 23, 2012) – David M. Stern, MD, executive dean of the College of Medicine and interim vice chancellor of Research at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), has appointed Gerald Byrne, PhD, the full-time director of the UTHSC Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (RBL).  To devote all of his efforts to this role, Dr. Byrne has stepped down as chair of the UTHSC Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Biochemistry (MIB), a position he held for almost 10 years.  Nationally recognized for his expertise in chlamydial and infectious agents, Dr. Byrne will continue in his role as a professor in MIB.

Dr. Stern named Michael Whitt, PhD, professor in MIB, as the interim chair for the department.  Dr. Whitt is an internationally recognized expert on vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) entry, replication and assembly.  He also holds a patent on the use of recombinant VSV as a therapeutic vector.  VSV is a virus that belongs to the same family as the well-known rabies virus.  It can infect insects, cattle, horses and pigs as well as humans, who exhibit flu-like symptoms when infected.  Also a common laboratory virus, VSV is used to study the properties of a specific family of viruses, as well as to study viral evolution.

“Gerry has made many significant contributions to his department and to the university.  He is an outstanding scientist and advocate for the RBL, and we are excited he has chosen to focus his considerable efforts in the development of the RBL research portfolio,” Dr. Stern observed.  “We are grateful to Mike for his willingness to assume the leadership role in Microbiology, Immunology and Biochemistry.  His abilities to build strong peer relationships and manage projects will serve him well in his new role,” Dr. Stern added.

As the author of more than 110 original, peer-review articles and more than 15 reviews and book chapters, Dr. Byrne serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Infection and Immunity, and has a long history of National Institutes of Health (NIH) Study Section service.  He has been continually funded by multiple extramural agencies throughout his career; including an ongoing NIH R01 grant with a 25 year history and Department of Defense funding for the past 10 years.  Further, Dr Byrne was a lead researcher in the successful bid to obtain the UTHSC NIH UC6 grant, which brought in more than $25 million to support the building and equipping of the RBL.

Funded by the NIH and American Cancer Society, Dr. Whitt served as a member of the NIH Virology Study Section.  He is on the editorial board for Virology and Journal of Virology, and has received numerous teaching awards at UTHSC. 

As the flagship statewide academic health system, the mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by pursuing an integrated program of education, research, clinical care, and public service.  In 2011, UT Health Science Center celebrated its centennial: 100 years advancing the future of health care.  Offering a broad range of postgraduate training opportunities, the main UTHSC campus is located in Memphis and includes six colleges: Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy.  The UTHSC campus in Knoxville includes a College of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, and an Allied Health Sciences unit.  In addition, the UTHSC Chattanooga campus includes a College of Medicine and an Allied Health Sciences unit.  Since its founding in 1911, UTHSC has educated and trained more than 53,000 health care professionals on campuses and in health care facilities across the state.  For more information, visit www.uthsc.edu.

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