Dr. Susan Pierce Named Chief of NIAID's Laboratory of Immunogenetics
Susan K. Pierce, Ph.D., has been appointed chief of the Laboratory of Immunogenetics at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in Bethesda, MD, a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Dr. Pierce comes to NIH from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, where she was the William A. and Gayle Cook Chair in the Biological Sciences and, since 1987, a biochemistry professor in the department of biochemistry, molecular biology and cell biology. She was chair of the department from 1990 to 1993.
Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., NIAID director, says, "Dr. Pierce brings a wealth of scientific experience and accomplishment to our immunogenetics research program."
"We are pleased to have Dr. Pierce provide leadership and her expertise to the Laboratory of Immunogenetics," says Thomas J. Kindt, Ph.D., director of NIAID's Division of Intramural Research (DIR). Dr. Pierce has served the DIR as a member of the Board of Scientific Counselors, an advisory board.
The Laboratory of Immunogenetics is part of the NIAID DIR. The laboratory is composed of five sections, each headed by an investigator studying topics related to the immune system in health and disease. Techniques in molecular biology, cell biology and structural biology are used to study basic immune mechanisms by which the immune system is activated in healthy humans. Knowledge gained by the studies may lead to the design of better, more effective vaccines and therapies to boost the immune response in cancer, or to dampen the immune system in autoimmune disease.
Dr. Pierce's research in the area of antigen processing and presentation has been supported by NIH grants. She was the recipient of a Merit Award from NIAID. The author of numerous scientific publications, Dr. Pierce served as deputy editor of the Journal of Immunology from 1992 to 1997, and she was a member of the editorial board of Critical Reviews in Immunology from 1991 to 1999. She is a member of the American Association of Immunologists.
Dr. Pierce received a master's degree in microbiology from Yale University in 1974 and earned her doctorate in immunology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1976.
NIAID is a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIAID conducts and supports research to prevent, diagnose and treat illnesses such as HIV disease and other sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis, malaria, asthma and allergies. NIH is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Press releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID Web site at http://www.niaid.nih.gov.
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