University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann has appointed De’Broski R. Herbert, a faculty member in the department of pathobiology at the School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet), as Presidential Associate Professor.

Dr. Herbert is currently an associate professor of immunology, and since joining the faculty in 2016, he has established and sustained a highly productive NIH-funded research program. His research portfolio is a substantial component to the school’s renowned strength in neglected diseases of poverty. Dr. Herbert is an active collaborator with faculty at Penn Medicine who concentrate on immunologic mechanisms of disease, as well as with faculty from the Penn Institute for Immunology, the Penn Center for Pulmonary Biology, and the Penn Digestive Diseases Research Center. In addition to his rigorous basic research program, Dr. Herbert is internationally recognized for his formative work in Nigeria, where he examined biological samples from children in the Hausa State in North Nigeria. This study discovered numerous worm-like organisms, or helminths, that are endemic to that region.

“As a parasitologist and immunologist, Dr. Herbert’s mission is to understand how parasites manipulate the host’s immune system to favor their survival,” said Andrew Hoffman, the Gilbert S. Kahn Dean of Veterinary Medicine. “His work demonstrates clearly that an understanding of parasite-host interactions is key to unlocking the biology of the immune system itself, since disruption unmasks basic mechanisms that are relevant to a variety of diseases including Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and more.

Dr. Herbert received his BS in microbiology from Xavier University of Louisiana and his PhD in immunology from Thomas Jefferson University. He did his postdoctoral research at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and he went on to hold faculty positions at the University of Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation, and at the University of California at San Francisco. Dr. Herbert serves on the editorial boards of Infection and Immunity and the Journal of Immunology. He also serves on the scientific advisory boards for the Keystone Symposia and the American Institute of Biological Sciences.

Presidential Professorships are awarded by University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann to exceptional scholars, at any rank, who contribute to faculty eminence through scholarship and diversity across the University. They are a key feature of Penn’s Action Plan for Faculty Diversity and Excellence.