At the unanimous request of the primary faculty in our Department, the University has approved the change of the name of the Department of Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry to the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. The reasons for this decision are both practical and historic.

We believe that the new name describes the range of expertise of the faculty. This is important for the recruitment of graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. When potential trainees search the internet and other sources for information about departments that specialize in Microbiology or Biochemistry, they will be led to our website. The inclusion of Molecular Genetics in the title gives a clear picture to potential applicants of the broad research interests of our faculty. Also, the new title accurately describes the range of involvement of our faculty in the teaching of medical and MD-PhD students.

There is historical precedent for the name of our department to be so inclusive. In 1985, the Departments of Microbiology and Biochemistry were merged to take advantage of the increasingly overlapping interests of the two faculties. The name of the merged department was changed to the “Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology” to emphasize the breadth of this research activity in the new organization. In the years that followed this change, the recruitment of first-rate graduate students and post-doctoral fellows was highly successful and the envy of colleagues both locally and nationally.

MGB has now evolved into a broadly based research and teaching enterprise that has greatly favored microbiology. It is now prudent to represent this growth in a more focused Microbiology and Molecular Genetics department. This accurate description of the department will allow potential chair candidates to fully understand the scope of research interests of our faculty and to lead our department into its next phase of maturity and excellence.

Sincerely,

Joseph C. Glorioso III
Chairman and William S. McEllroy Professor of Biochemistry
The Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine