ImmunoReach Project Leader, Co-Author
Louis B. Justement, PhD is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology in the Heersink School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Justement is an immunologist by training and ran a research laboratory for 30 years studying the cellular and molecular signals that regulate B lymphocyte activation and differentiation. Currently, Dr. Justement focuses on leadership roles in education at UAB. Dr. Justement has dedicated a significant portion of his career on education, career and professional development at multiple levels, including undergraduate, graduate and professional school education. Dr. Justement serves as the Director for the GBS Immunology Theme in the Graduate School. He established the Undergraduate Immunology Program (UIP) at UAB in 2016 and serves as Co-Director of the UIP. Prior to that, he served as the Associate Director for the Medical Scientist Training Program at UAB for 13 years. Dr. Justement is active at the national level in promoting numerous initiatives pertaining to graduate and postdoctoral education and training. He served as Chair of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Training and Career Opportunities (TCO) Subcommittee for 10 years and was one of the early proponents for the adoption of Individual Development Plans (IDPs). Dr. Justement is one of the founding Steering Committee members of Professional Development Hub (pd/hub), a center for the dissemination of evidence-based training and resources to promote career and professional development for trainees. Most recently, he was elected to the Steering Committee of the Graduate Section of the GREAT Group at the AAMC, which focuses on PhD, postdoctoral and MD/PhD training issues. He has also served on the National Board of Medical Examiners USMLE Step 1 Microbiology Test Material Development and Interdisciplinary Review Committees. Dr. Justement served as President of FASEB (2021-2022) and also served as Vice President for Science Policy (2018-2019), a position in which he oversaw the activities of the Science Policy Committee for the Federation. Dr. Justement was the Chair of the DEI Taskforce at FASEB, which created the first DEI Strategic plan that laid the foundation for the DEAI efforts that are ongoing today. He is currently President-Elect for the Society for Leukocyte Biology.