Philadelphia, PA – Boris Striepen, PhD, Professor of Pathobiology, an internationally recognized parasitologist, has been named the Mark Whittier and Lila Griswold Allam Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet).
Dr. Boris Striepen
Dr. Striepen holds an extraordinary record of scholarly accomplishments. His research program focuses on Cryptosporidium parvum, which causes cryptosporidiosis, a zoonotic disease causing diarrhea in millions of children and adults each year, especially in low-resource countries with poor quality drinking water. Striepen seeks to understand the biology of Cryptosporidium and its interaction with the host immune system by using innovative strategies for genetic manipulation of both. He is currently PI on three and co-PI on one NIH grant, and received funding through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation from 2015 to 2020.
“Dr. Striepen’s scientific work has resulted in over 140 peer reviewed publications in high-impact journals that include Nature, Cell Host and Microbe, Nature Microbiology, and PNAS,” said James “Sparky” Lok, PhD, Interim Chair of the Department of Pathobiology, and Professor of Pathobiology. “His outstanding achievements have garnered him numerous awards, including the 2015 William Trager Award from the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, and have made him highly sought after by editorial boards for top journals such as Eukaryotic Cell and PloS Pathogens, and as a reviewer for Science and other top-flight journals.”
Following a post-doctoral Fellowship with David Roos, PhD, at the Department of Biology in the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, Striepen’s early career advanced at the University of Georgia from Assistant Professor, to Associate Professor, to Professor, and then to endowed Distinguished Research Professor in the Departments of Cellular Biology, Microbiology and Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology. He also served as a prominent faculty member in the University of Georgia’s Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases. Striepen joined Penn Vet’s Department of Pathobiology in 2017 as Professor of Pathobiology.
The awarding of a named, endowed professorship is the highest honor bestowed upon a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania and reflects excellence in scholarly achievement. The Mark Whittier and Lila Griswold Allam Professorship was established in 1980 by Elizabeth R. Moran in honor of Dr. Mark Allam, who was Penn Vet’s eighth Dean and co-founder of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons.