Nicholas Cianciotto, PhD, professor of microbiology-immunology, has been named director of the Walter S. and Lucienne Driskill Graduate Training Program in the Life Sciences (DGP).
A member of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine faculty since 1990 and of the DGP program since its inception that same year, Cianciotto is an accomplished investigator and educator, having earned the National Foundation for Infectious Disease Young Investigator Award in 1993 and Outstanding Teacher Award in 2008.
“Nicholas has a passion for mentoring and developing the careers of young scientists,” said Rex Chisholm, PhD, vice dean of scientific affairs and graduate education. “In addition to his commitment to graduate student training, he has also taught medical school courses for more than 20 years and, today, many of his students and post-docs hold faculty and scientific research positions at institutions around the world.”
Over the course of his career, Cianciotto has directly mentored 25 graduate students, served on the thesis committee for another 30, taught and directed microbiology graduate courses, directly trained 18 post-doctoral fellows, and served on the DGP Admissions and Program Committee.
Beginning in 2012, Cianciotto also took on the role of director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Training Program in immunology and molecular pathogenesis.
“I am privileged to have had a successful career at Feinberg, and by taking on the role of DGP director, I feel that I will have the opportunity and privilege to serve our students in an even greater capacity,” he said.
Maintaining an active laboratory that researches an agent of Legionnaires Disease, Cianciotto’s work is funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the NIAID. He has served as author or co-author on more than 90 peer-reviewed articles and numerous books and book chapters. He is a member of the American Society for Microbiology and the American Academy of Microbiology, and is currently on the editorial board of Infection and Immunity and the International Journal of Medical Microbiology.
Cianciotto succeeds William Karpus, PhD, Marie A. Fleming Research Professor of Pathology and professor of microbiology-immunology, who undertakes a new position with the graduate school as associate dean for student affairs.
Karpus, who joined the faculty in 1993, became director of the Driskill Graduate Program in 2008. Under his leadership, it has continued to attract superb and highly competitive candidates.