Reappointment of Frederic D. Bushman, PhD, as Chair of the Department of Microbiology


August 13, 2021

To:PSOM Faculty, Students, and Staff

From:J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD
Jonathan A. Epstein, MD


We are pleased to announce the reappointment of Dr. Frederic Bushman for a second six-year term as Chair of the Department of Microbiology.

Home to 18 standing faculty members, the Department of Microbiology has flourished under Dr. Bushman’s leadership. Over the past six years, he has recruited stellar scientists, including a very strong class of assistant professors.  The Department’s robust research program is at the forefront of modern microbiology, with the FY 22 sponsored project budget projected to reach an all-time high of $24.2 million. Microbiology faculty have made numerous contributions to understanding interactions of microbes and their hosts, elucidating myriad new molecular mechanisms and motivating novel strategies for prevention and treatment of disease. Notably, over the past year and a half, members of the Department have made tremendous contributions to COVID-19 research. At the start of the pandemic, Dr. Bushman, with co-director Susan Weiss, PhD, catalyzed the creation of the Penn Center for Research on Coronavirus and Other Emerging Pathogens. In terms of its teaching mission, the Department’s training programs and inviting collaborative culture have attracted some of the most talented doctoral and post-doctoral trainees in the country. In addition, the Department has also extended its educational outreach to the community and focused on inclusion and diversity.

We also take this opportunity to thank Dr. Bushman for his many institutional contributions, including co-leading the Penn-CHOP Microbiome program. He was instrumental to our testing efforts and to the creation of COVID SAFE, our first saliva-based viral testing and screening program to help identify and prevent the spread of new COVID-19 cases on campus. 

We look forward to working with Dr. Bushman to further enhance the dynamic and interactive scientific environment within the Department of Microbiology. Please join us in congratulating him on his reappointment.