Appointment of Dr. Nancy Sullivan as an Edward Avedisian Professor and Professor of Microbiology and Biology

From Dr. Jean Morrison, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer
and Dr. Karen Antman, Medical Campus Provost and Dean, Arum V. Chobanian and Edward Avedisian School of Medicine

Last fall, we announced the appointment of Dr. Nancy Sullivan as director of the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) at Boston University. Prior to joining Boston University, Dr. Sullivan was the chief of the Biodefense Research Section at the Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH). We are delighted to now announce her appointment as an inaugural holder of an Edward Avedisian Professorship, as well as professorial appointments in the Department of Microbiology in the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and in the Department of Biology in the College of Arts & Sciences.

Dr. Sullivan’s appointment as Avedisian Chair marks an important moment for our University following the record $100 million naming gift last summer from late alumnus, investor, and musician Edward Avedisian. In addition to renaming our medical school, Mr. Avedisian’s grant included generous provisions to support future generations of medical students through need-based financial aid, support our faculty through professorships, and fund new education and research initiatives. The Avedisian Professorship, which is to be held by the director of the NEIDL and provides annual support for research and teaching, was part of this gift agreement.

An internationally respected leader in infectious disease research, Dr. Sullivan brings extraordinary credentials to her appointment. She has devoted her career to high-impact science characterized by innovation and a vision for anticipating and preparing for emerging infectious diseases through insightful work on vaccines and therapeutics. Over the decades, her work has produced a host of translational breakthroughs, including the discovery of the first vaccine to protect primates from Ebola virus and of a protective monoclonal antibody, mAb114, that is being used in its treatment – work that contributed to her being named Time’s 2014 Person of the Year in “The Ebola Fighters” (the healthcare workers and scientists who tackled an outbreak of the disease in West Africa) and to her inclusion in the Politico Top 50 in 2015.  She has additionally been an NIH subject matter expert in several areas including filoviruses, medical countermeasures for public health emergencies, accelerating COVID-19 therapeutic interventions and vaccines, and pandemic preparedness, and a World Health Organization subject matter expert on Marburg vaccines. 

Dr. Sullivan’s professorial appointments all take effect immediately. Please join us in congratulating her on these latest distinctions as she formally joins the Boston University faculty. Her leadership at the NEIDL will help produce important advances in the way we identify, track, and confront world-threatening infectious diseases, and we look forward to following her progress and service in the years ahead.

Appointment of Dr. Nancy Sullivan as an Edward Avedisian Professor and Professor of Microbiology and Biology – 2.10.23