Dyann F. Wirth, PhD

Chair
Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Richard Pearson Strong Professor of Infectious Diseases
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Dyann Wirth is an international leader in malaria research and an expert in the molecular biology of tropical disease. As Co-Director of the Infectious Disease Initiative, Wirth provides new insight into how the malaria parasite has evolved, specifically in the areas of population biology, drug resistance and antigenicity. In addition as director of the Harvard Malaria Initiative at the Harvard School of Public Health, Defeating Malaria: From the Genes to the Globe initiative at Harvard University, and Co-chair of the Global Infectious Diseases Program at Harvard Global Health Institute, Wirth has created a unique malaria research and training network that brings together scientists with expertise in molecular biology, genetics, genomics, population genetics, chemistry, cell biology, epidemiology, computational biology, biostatistics, and leading clinicians in infectious diseases and pathology.

Wirth and the members of her lab leverage genomic tools and novel approaches to better understand the fundamental biology of the malaria parasite and mechanisms of drug resistance. The long-term goal of this work is to understand basic molecular mechanisms in protozoan parasites with the goal of discovering and applying preventive and therapeutic interventions against infection. Wirth’s research is made possible through collaborative research partnerships with investigators, universities, and clinical centers in Africa, Asia, Central and South America.

Wirth is the Richard Pearson Strong Professor of Infectious Diseases and Chair of the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases the Harvard School of Public Health. Wirth is Faculty Chair of the Harvard Integrated Life Sciences Program at Harvard Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. In addition, Wirth is a past President of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and an elected member of the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences.

She received her Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.