Maddox Named Pathobiology Interim Head

Search for Full-Time Head Open Now

In January, Dr. Carol Maddox took on the role of interim head of the Department of Pathobiology. Dr. Maddox, who joined the college faculty in 2000, is currently a full professor as well as head of the microbiology section of the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.

‘Tireless Dedication’

“We are grateful to Dr. Maddox for agreeing to lead the department as we carry out a search for a permanent head,” said Dean Peter Constable. “She has shown tireless dedication to the college over nearly two decades, not only as an outstanding diagnostician and researcher but as a teacher, mentor, and valued colleague.”

I have a keen interest in the teaching mission and in research, and balancing those two responsibilities within the department will be a key focus.

Dr. Carol Maddox

“I have a keen interest in the teaching mission and in research,” said Dr. Maddox, “and balancing those two responsibilities within the department will be a key focus.”

Dr. Maddox takes the departmental reins from Dr. Joanna Shisler, professor in the Department of Microbiology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, who served as interim head in 2018. (Throughout 2019 Dr. Shisler will be in Washington, D.C., working as a visiting scientist at the National Science Foundation.)

“Dr. Shisler did a wonderful job of mentoring the department’s many junior faculty members,” said Dr. Maddox. “I am especially committed to carrying forward that attention to ensuring their success as I guide the department over the next eight months.”

A Vibrant Department

Of the department’s 18 faculty members, ten are full professors, two are associate professors, and six are assistant professors. The newest faculty members are two full professors recruited from Kansas State University: Dr. Weiping Zhang, a molecular evolutionary biologist who works on vaccine development for diarrheal diseases, and Dr. Ying Fang, a molecular virologist and leading expert on the virus that causes porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome (PRRS).

Applications are currently being accepted until March 1 for professor and head, Department of Pathobiology. This position entails the responsibility to promote excellence in research across a diverse basic science faculty. Departmental research programs span pathogen biology, molecular mechanisms of infection, host-pathogen interactions and immunity, vaccine design and development, and ecology and epidemiology of infectious diseases.

About Dr. Maddox

Before coming to Illinois, Dr. Maddox held positions at the University of Missouri and Penn State. Her educational background includes dual bachelor’s degrees, a master’s in veterinary science, and a PhD in microbiology, all from Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pa.

Outside of the college, Dr. Maddox has served as co-chair of the University of Illinois Institutional Biosafety Committee and of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Bacteriology/Mycology Subcommittee and Steering Committee.