Mark Shlomchik, who has served as chair of the Department of Immunology since his arrival at Pitt School of Medicine in 2013, will step down from the position, effective Aug. 1.
Shlomchik, UPMC endowed and distinguished professor, will remain on the faculty, where he will focus on his basic and translational research programs. He also will devote time to pursuing the delivery of personalized T cell therapy for cancer through entrepreneurial efforts such as BlueSphere Bio, a startup he cofounded with his brother, Warren Shlomchik.
During Mark Shlomchik’s tenure as chair, the Department of Immunology has grown significantly and seen many notable successes. The department now includes 22 primary and 62 secondary faculty, with the recruitment of 10 junior and two senior faculty. Department research funding has tripled under his leadership; and his efforts helped unite the diverse community of immunology researchers at Pitt. He also oversaw the creation of new core facilities for mouse genome engineering, flow cytometry, and gnotobiotic mice and spearheaded the development of the graduate program in microbiology and immunology.
Dario Vignali will serve as interim chair of the department until a permanent successor is identified.