Victor J. DiRita, Ph.D.
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Associate Dean for Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
Dr. DiRita, a professor of microbiology and immunology, is a member of the Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine & the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Michigan Medical School. He joined the faculty in 1991 and in May 2008 he was appointed assistant dean for graduate and postdoctoral studies.
Dr. DiRita completed his doctorate degree in biological sciences at Purdue University and received post-doctoral training as a research fellow in microbiology and molecular genetics at Harvard Medical School.
His research interests include understanding pathogenic mechanisms of Vibrio cholerae, the agent of human cholera, and Campylobacter jejuni., a prevalent foodborne pathogen that causes gastroenteritis and diarrhea. He has done significant work in the area of gene regulation and gene discovery in these pathogens, using a variety of in vitro and in vivo models of virulence.
Dr. DiRita’s research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the University of Michigan Endowment for the Basic Sciences, and has led to 53 original research papers published in peer-reviewed publications.
He has supervised more than 30 postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and undergraduates from around the world, and hosted visiting scholars from Brazil, Norway, Mexico, Chile and Shanghai Jiaotong University in China.
He has presented his work at several scientific conferences in the United States and abroad. Dr. DiRita organized meetings of the field including the 2008 Gordon Conference on Microbial Toxins and Pathogenicity, the premier meeting in the field of microbial pathogenesis. He currently serves as the Divisional Group II representative for the American Society for Microbiology, representing membership in some of the largest divisions within the Society.
At UMMS, Dr. DiRita serves as Director of the Mechanisms of Microbial Pathogenesis Training Program, and NIH-funded pre- and post-doctoral training program that he started in 1998. From 1999-2004, he was chair of graduate studies for the Microbiology and Immunology.
In addition to teaching, Dr. DiRita has been a strategic leader. He was chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology Five-year Review Committee, 1997-98, and was selected chair of the Biomedical Research Council, 2004-2005. He currently serves as Vice-Chair for the Biological Sciences Scholars Search Committee.
Contact Information
Victor J. DiRita, Ph.D.
5641 Medical Science Bldg. II
1150 West Medical Science Center Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-3531
734-764-0277
734-764-3562 fax
Email: vdirita@umich.edu
