Ex-officio Board member and Past President

Porter Professor of Microbiology-Immunology
Professor Seifert received his B.S. in Chemistry from Beloit College, Beloit Wisconsin 1in 1977. After two years at the US Patent and Trademark Office as a Patent Examiner, he matriculated in the Biophysics Program at the Pennsylvania State University. He received a PhD in 1984 for work with Ronald Porter studying enhanced recombination mediated by the E. coli conjugal F factor. His postdoctoral work with Maggie So at the research Institute of Scripps Clinic in La Jolla California began his research into Neisseria gonorrhoeae. During that time he developed genetic techniques for N. gonorrhea and began his study of the pilin antigenic variation system and those subject remain as some of his laboratories’ groups research concentrations. He was appointed as an Assistant professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in 1988 and has risen through the ranks. He was director of the Integrated Graduate Program for five years and was the Associate Chair of the Microbiology-Immunology Department for 17 years. He was the Associate Dean for Student Affairs at the Northwestern University Graduate School for three years and during that time served as the Interim Dean of the Graduate School. He has directly mentored 18 graduate students and 14 postdoctoral fellows.