Deborah Hogan, professor of microbiology and immunology at the Geisel School of Medicine, was elected as a 2019 Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology — the honorific leadership group within the American Society for Microbiology.
David Leib, chair of the department of microbiology and immunology at Geisel who worked with Hogan for almost ten years, spoke highly of her.
“She’s just top-notch,” Leib said. “She is a spectacular scientist, great teacher, great administrator … she does it all.”
Fellows are recognized as leaders through a highly-selective, peer review process that takes into account their scientific achievements and original contributions, according to the ASM.
In addition to her work as a Geisel professor, Hogan co-directs the Lung Biology COBRE Translational Research Core at Dartmouth, and also serves as an associate editor for the journal PLoS Pathogens. She was the recipient of the Dartmouth Graduate Faculty Mentoring Award in 2014, and received national recognition in 2016 as a recipient of the Dr. Thomas Maciag COBRE Independence Award from the National Institutes of Health.
Hogan said that she was very happy to be recognized, and acknowledged the contributions of the people who work with her.
“It is a nice reflection of the contributions of the post-docs and students and research technicians and undergrads.” Hogan said.
Kimberley Lewis, a graduate student who works with Hogan, described her as a mentor and leader to not only the people working in her lab, but to people in her department and other junior researchers.
“She adapts to what each student needs,” she said. “She has 11 students and knows every project inside and out, and does not have to be reminded about any part of the project. She is willing to meet outside of hours, such as 8pm, if needed.”
Lewis and Harty both said that they viewed Hogan as a strong female role model in the field of microbiology.
Leib added that Hogan was an example of an professor with strengths across leadership, teaching, research and mentorship.
Among scientific excellence, originality, leadership, high ethical standards and scholarly achievement, one of the criteria for being named a AAM fellow is creativity. Leib commended Hogan’s creative thinking and ability to put forth a measured and alternative viewpoint.
“She contributes a thoughtful viewpoint that can make everybody think about problems in a different way,” he said. “She brings an unique approach to matters of curriculum, policy, and science.”
Hogan emphasized the need for creative thinking in science, and how sharing her ideas with other scientists was helpful for her research projects. She added that some of her best ideas came while she was explaining microbiology to students.
Another factor taken into account by the ASM is scientific excellence. Colleen Harty, another graduate student who works with Hogan, said that Hogan’s breadth and depth of knowledge about different microorganisms is remarkable, and described her as a “brilliant” scientist.
“As she presents ideas, she writes the ideas out and diagrams out the projects and how they are connected to one another,” she said. “In this field especially, connections between great ideas ... is super important.”
