Weill Cornell Medical College
Kirk Deitsch is a Professor in the Microbiology and Immunology Department and co-Chair of the Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology Graduate Program at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, USA.
His research career has focused on understanding various aspects of gene regulation in malaria parasites, including shifting gene expression patterns that result in antigenic variation and the ability of these parasites to avoid clearance by the human immune response. In addition, he has investigated unusual aspects of genome plasticity in malaria parasites, particularly how parasites continuously generate diversity within the portions of their genomes that encode proteins displayed to the immune system, thereby presenting an ever-changing target that is difficult to attack.
In addition to his work on the basic biology of malaria parasites, he has worked extensively in teaching Parasitology and Cell/Molecular Biology in several different venues. For four years he was the director of the Annual “Biology of Parasitism” course held at the Marine Biology Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA and for the last decade he has been teaching and directing a “Cell Biology of Pathogens” course at the University of Ghana in West Africa.
Over the course of his career, he has received a New Scholar Award in Global Infectious Diseases from the Ellison Medical Foundation, a Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering as well as several awards for excellence in teaching and mentorship.
Twitter handle: @DeitschKirk