ANN ARBOR, MI - Harry L.T. Mobley, Ph.D., an internationally known scientist who studies how bacteria cause urinary tract infections and peptic ulcers, has been confirmed by the U-M Board of Regents as the Medical School 's new chair of microbiology and immunology. In addition to serving as department chair, Mobley will be the Frederick G. Novy Collegiate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology. His appointment begins on July 1, 2004 .

Mobley comes to U-M from the University of Maryland 's School of Medicine, where he has, for the past 23 years, studied how bacteria like E. coli, Proteus mirabilis and Helicobacter pylori infect their animal hosts and produce disease. He also directed the School of Medicine's graduate program in microbiology and immunology.

“Dr. Mobley is one of the world's top researchers in microbial pathogenesis, a field of great scientific interest with important applications in public health and medicine,” says Allen S. Lichter, M.D., dean of the U-M Medical School. “He is a prolific scholar, an excellent scientist and a gifted teacher, with the leadership skills it takes to succeed as a department chair. I am delighted that he will be joining us here at Michigan.”

Mobley is well-known in the scientific community for his research on urease – an enzyme that breaks down urea in the urinary tract and reduces the acidity of urine. When the urinary tract is infected with Proteus mirabilis bacteria, lower acidity often leads to the formation of kidney stones. Mobley also studies the role of urease in peptic ulcer disease caused by H. pylori bacterial infection. In addition, Mobley's current work focuses on identifying the virulence genes and enzymes involved in infection of the urinary tract by E. coli.

“U-M has many outstanding scientists working in microbial pathogenesis, and I'm thrilled to have this opportunity to work closely with them,” Mobley says. “I hope to increase collaborations with scientists in other U-M departments, especially in clinical areas, because many of the questions we are trying to answer in the laboratory have the potential to be translated into new medical treatments.”

Born in South Carolina, Mobley received his undergraduate degree from Emory University. In 1981, he received his Ph.D. degree in microbiology and immunology from the University of Louisville's School of Medicine . After completing a post-doctoral fellowship in biochemistry and bacterial genetics at the University of Maryland 's School of Medicine, he joined the faculty in 1984 as an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases. In 1997, he became a professor of microbiology and immunology in the medical school's Department of Microbiology and Immunology.

Mobley is a fellow in the American Academy of Microbiology, and chairs the American Society for Microbiology's Pathogenesis and Host Response Mechanisms group. He is a member of several editorial review boards, and serves as a grant reviewer for the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and other organizations. He is the author of more than 240 articles and abstracts in scientific journals, as well as 32 book chapters.

An amateur photographer, Mobley's work has been exhibited at the University of Maryland . He and his wife, Natalie, have two grown children.

Contact: Sally Pobojewski

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