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History

1940s–1950s

  • UT Southwestern was founded in 1943 and MacDonald Fulton, Ph.D., was the first chair of the department.
  • S. Edward Sulkin, Ph.D., became chair of the department in 1945 and led for 27 years (1945-1972). He was a “microbe hunter” and made major advances in rabiesviruses.
  • Microbiology was the first approved doctoral graduate program at UT Southwestern, and the first Ph.D. degree was awarded in 1955.

1960s–1970s

  • Richard Finkelstein, Ph.D. performed important work with cholera toxin and Eugene Rosenblum, Ph.D., explored the genetics of staphylococci.
  • Jonathan W. Uhr, M.D., became chair of the department in 1972 and led for 25 years (1972-1998). He performed pioneering work on the immunology of cancer cells and their detection and treatment.

1980s–1990s

  • Ellen Vitetta, Ph.D., performed groundbreaking work on immune mechanisms and antibody-based therapeutics. Her student, Linda Buck, Ph.D., went on to win the 2004 Nobel Prize for her postdoctoral studies on olfactory receptors.
  • In 1998, the department was split and reorganized.
  • Michael V. Norgard, Ph.D., became chair of the Department of Microbiology in 1998 and led for 25 years (1998-2024). He performed important work on bacterial membrane proteins of pathogenic spirochetes, most notably those causing syphilis (Treponema pallidum) and Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi).
  • The Center for Immunology was created, which eventually became the Department of Immunology, first directed by Ward Wakeland, Ph.D., and now under the direction of Lora Hooper, Ph.D. since 2016.

2000s–2010s

Recruitment and support of a core group of bacteriologists (Drs. Sperandio, Hendrixson, Alto, Winter) and virologists (Drs. Pfeiffer, Conrad, D’Orso, Schoggins, Gammon) brought the department into a modern era of host-pathogen interactions and molecular mechanisms of disease.

2020 and Beyond

  • Recruitments of additional bacteriologists (Drs. Forsberg and Cao) and a virologist (Dr. Wu) continued to build strength in molecular and cellular aspects of microbiology.
  • Julie Pfeiffer, Ph.D. became chair of the department in 2024.

Tribute to Dr. Michael V. Norgard, former Chair of Microbiology

Upon Dr. Michael Norgard’s retirement (Jan. 31, 2024) after 45 years as a faculty member and 25 years as Chair of Microbiology, he had recruited all of the primary Microbiology faculty of Drs. Neal Alto, Sherry Cao, Nicholas Conrad, Ivan D’Orso, Kevin Forsberg, Don Gammon, David Hendrixson, Julie Pfeiffer (current Chair), John Schoggins, and Chien-Ting Wu, thereby establishing one of the premier medical microbiology departments in the world. His legacy of academic excellence will continue to positively impact the Department of Microbiology and UT Southwestern for decades to come.

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