Stephen M. Rich, PhD, Professor of Microbiology

BIO

Stephen M. Rich is a Professor of Microbiology and research scientist at the University of Massachusetts (UMass), Amherst.   He completed his B.S. in Biology at St. Lawrence University (1989), M.S. in Zoology (specializing in Mammalogy) at the University of Vermont (1992), continued graduate studies at Harvard University (ABD), and completed his education with a Ph.D. in Biology at the University of California, Irvine (1997). Following a post-doc at the University of Rochester (Howard Ochman), he took a faculty appointment at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine (now Cummings), where he was a Research Assistant Professor until 2005. At that time, he joined the UMass faculty and later became Department Head in Plant, Soil, and Insect Sciences (2009-2013). After a restructuring of the college and department, he moved his tenure to the Department of Microbiology. He is currently the Director of the Laboratory of Medical Zoology at UMass and recently launched the New England Center of Excellence in Vector-borne Diseases (NEWVEC), for which he serves as Executive Director.  He has published over 75 peer reviewed papers and his research has been funded by NIH, WHO, USDA, CDC, DOD and several private grantors.