Dr. Doms: Chair of Microbiology
Dr. Robert W. Doms, a nationally
recognized researcher in the study of HIV/AIDS, has been named chairman
of the Department of Microbiology at the School of Medicine. Director of
pathogenesis at Penn's interdisciplinary Center for AIDS Research and an
associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the medical
school, Dr. Doms has led significant discoveries in the way the AIDS virus
gains entry to cells. His team of scientists discovered that in the earliest
stages of HIV infection, a second set of cell receptor molecules--known
as cofactors--must be present for the disease to develop. In announcing
the appointment, Dr. Arthur K. Asbury, Interim Dean of the School of Medicine,
said he believes the medical community can expect "many more scientific
contributions" from Dr. Doms through the course of his career.
A member of the American Society for Clinical Research, Dr. Doms has published 40 research papers in the past eight years. He won the Burroughs Wellcome Award for Translational Research in 1998. The same year, he received the Stanley N. Cohen Biomedical Research Award, one of the highest honors bestowed by Penn's School of Medicine. In 1999, he was one of four scientists who won the Elizabeth Glaser Scientist Award, which is the only research award devoted exclusively to work in pediatric HIV/AIDS.
Dr. Doms earned his M.D. and Ph.D. in cell biology from Yale University and served his residency at the National Institutes of Health following work as a post doctoral fellow at Yale and the NIH. He came to Penn in 1992 as an assistant professor in pathology and laboratory medicine and was promoted to associate professor six years later.
Almanac, Vol. 47, No. 17, January 9, 2001