The Investiture of Stephen D. Miller, PhD, as the Judy Gugenheim Research Professor in Microbiology-Immunology at the Feinberg School of Medicine

Established by Joseph J. Gugenheim, Jr., MD, a Feinberg alumnus, in 2005, the Judy Gugenheim Research Professor of Microbiology-Immunology serves as a lasting homage in honor of Dr. Gugenheim’s late wife.  Mrs. Gugenheim developed diabetes at age fourteen, and actively supported the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in its search for a cure over her lifetime. 

Dr. Laimins (l) and Dr. Miller (r) pose with Dr. Gugenheim (c), donor to the professorship. (Photo by Nathan Mandell)

As the newly invested Judy Gugenheim Research Professor, Stephen D. Miller, PhD, will continue to lead revolutionary, collaborative research into the causes of and treatments for autoimmune and virus-induced diseases.  Something at which, according to Marc Jenkins, PhD, Distinguished McKnight Professor of the University of Minnesota Medical School, Dr. Miller cannot help but succeed. 

Speaking at the investiture ceremony on December 6, 2007, Dr. Jenkins described Dr. Miller as influential, accomplished, and “the model humane mentor,” saying that “The key to his success is passion and enthusiasm for science.  Steve’s enthusiasm is infectious, and the many collaborative papers that he has published are a testament to this fact.”

Dr. Miller with his extoller, Dr. Jenkins (Photo by Nathan Mandell)

Led by Laimonis A. Laimins, PhD, Guy and Ann Youmans Professor and chair of the Department of Microbiology-Immunology, the investiture ceremony represented the highest honor the Feinberg School of Medicine can bestow upon its faculty.  Dr. Laimins acknowledged Dr. Gugenheim’s tremendous generosity and vision in establishing this endowed professorship, saying “Northwestern is truly grateful to Dr. Gugenheim for his extraordinary commitment to our research efforts.  His gift to establish this professorship is a most fitting tribute to the memory and spirit of his late wife.”

Dr. Miller joined Northwestern in 1981 as an assistant professor of microbiology-immunology.  In 1992, he was named a full professor, and in 2000, he was named the Congressman John E. Porter Professor of Biomedical Research.  In addition to serving as Director of the Interdepartmental Immunobiology Center, he leads the Immunology and Molecular Pathogenesis Training Program and serves as a professor in the Department of Dermatology.

In attendance, along with faculty from Dr. Miller’s lab and the Microbiology-Immunology Department, were Dr. Gugenheim, donor to the professorship, and members Judy's family.