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Craig E. Cameron, PhD, has been named Chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, effective September 1, 2019. Cameron comes to UNC from Pennsylvania State University, where he holds the title of Eberly Chair in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.


Craig E. Cameron, PhD, has been named Chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, effective September 1, 2019. Cameron comes to UNC from Pennsylvania State University, where he holds the title of Eberly Chair in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

William Goldman, PhD, announced in March, 2018 that he would step down after 10 years as Chair of the Department. Bob Duronio, PhD, has served as Interim Chair since August, 2018.

The Department currently ranks fifth nationally for NIH funding, third among public universities.

Cameron holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Howard University and a PhD in biochemistry from Case Western Reserve University. In all, Cameron has spent more than 22 years at Penn State, joining the faculty there in 1997 after his post-doctoral training. He served as Associate Head for Research and Graduate Education from 2011 – 2012 and has held his current position as Eberly Chair in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology since 2013.

“I am incredibly excited about the opportunity to join the UNC School of Medicine,” said Cameron. “I look forward to working with the outstanding faculty from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and collaborating with new colleagues from across the University.”

As a researcher, Cameron focuses on RNA polymerases and RNA-binding proteins required for viral replication or mitochondrial function. He brings a unique expertise in virology, biochemistry and mechanistic enzymology to the pursuit of novel strategies to treat and/or prevent viral infection and mitochondrial dysfunction.

Over the course of his career, Cameron has been honored with a number of awards, including the Howard Temin Award from the National Cancer Institute, an Established Investigator Award from the American Heart Association, a Distinguished Service Award from the Eberly College of Science Alumni Association and the Genesis Scholar Award from HBCU Digest. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. Cameron currently serves on the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, Molecular Genetics B Study Section and on the editorial boards for the Journal of Virology and Viruses. In January of 2019, Cameron began a five-year term as Associate Editor of Journal of Biological Chemistry.

“We are excited to welcome Dr. Cameron to UNC,” said Wesley Burks, MD, CEO of UNC Health Care and Dean of the UNC School of Medicine. “Our Department of Microbiology and Immunology has a great record of research and academic achievement and I’m confident that will continue under his leadership. Thank you to Dr. Goldman for his leadership and to Dr. Duronio for his service in the role of Interim Chair.”