Richard DiPaolo, Ph.D., Named Permanent Chair of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology

Richard Dipaolo, Ph.D., has been named the new permanent chair of Saint Louis University's Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology.

Dipaolo has served as professor and interim chair of the department since April 2021. He joined SLU as an assistant professor in 2007 and became a full professor in 2017. Over the last three years, he has been responsible for the strategic leadership and management of education, research and administrative functions in the department.

During this time Dipaolo has recruited four new faculty, implemented a mentorship program for junior faculty, mentored multiple graduate and medical students, and dedicated resources for grant writing services, leadership training and new collaborative research projects. He is chair of the Research Planning Committee, and a member of the Dean’s Cabinet and several research-related committees. 

Dipaolo's highly funded research investigates how inflammation induces gastric cancer, including the roles of cytokines, regulatory T cells and the gastric microbiome in regulating gastric carcinogenesis. He is principal investigator for two National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded grants and a sponsored research agreement with Cue Biopharma. He is a co-investigator on two NIH-funded grants and mentors individuals supported by an NIH/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) F30 training grant and an NIH/NIDDK K01 award. He is a fellow of the SLU Research Institute.

Dipaolo obtained a bachelor's degree in biology and immunology from the University of Chicago, his doctorate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine and his postdoctoral fellowship within the cellular immunology section at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.