The Science Scoop: Joe DeRisi

The Science Scoop

Please join us for the inaugural session of a quarterly public lecture series hosted by UCSF Basic Sciences. Discovery for ALL!

We invite you to learn about how curiosity-driven research is leading to critical medical advances. Through engaging lectures geared towards a lay audience, premier researchers at the University of California, San Francisco will share the challenges and joys of making scientific discoveries and their impact on bettering human health. The audience will have the opportunity to ask questions at the end of the talk.

This is a FREE lecture open to the general public, and all are welcome. No tickets or registration needed.

The Speaker

Dr. DeRisi is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at UCSF and President Emeritus of the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub SF. He employs an interdisciplinary approach combining genomics, bioinformatics, biochemistry, and bioengineering to study parasitic and viral infectious diseases in a wide range of organisms, for the purpose of discovering and studying novel or unrecognized diseases. His current work extends his focus beyond infections to include autoimmune disease as well. Early work in his lab contributed to the identification of the SARS coronavirus in 2003. In a parallel effort, Dr. DeRisi studies P. falciparum, the causative agent of the deadliest form of human malaria. Dr. DeRisi was one of the early pioneers of DNA microarray technology, which he helped develop with his PhD mentor, Dr. Patrick O. Brown, at Stanford University. He is nationally recognized for his efforts to make this technology accessible and freely available.

In 2004, he was chosen for a MacArthur Fellowship. In addition to being a Searle Scholar and a Packard Fellow, Dr. DeRisi has received the Heinz Award in Technology, the Economy and Employment, and was named an Eli Lilly and Company Research Award Laureate. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2015, and the National Academy of Sciences in 2016, and the National Academy of Medicine in 2017.

He received a B.A. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (1992) from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Dr. DeRisi completed his Ph.D. in the laboratory of Patrick O. Brown in the department of Biochemistry (1999), Stanford University. Prior to joining the UCSF faculty, Dr DeRisi was a Sandler Fellow in 1999. Dr. DeRisi was also a Howard Hughes Medical Investigator from 2006-2016, which he left to take on the role of Co-President of the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub. Dr. DeRisi is continuing to pursue efforts toward data-driven diagnostics for infectious disease, and recently, autoimmune disorders as well. Dr. DeRisi is a Founder of Delve Bio Inc.