Upstate Announces the Appointment of Rosemary Rochford, PhD as Vice President for Research
Rosemary Rochford, PhD
Center Advisory Board Member
Vice President for Research
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Rosemary Rochford, PhD has been named Vice President for Research. Dr. Rochford, a member of the Upstate faculty, previously served as Chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. The appointment of Dr. Rochford as vice president for research elevates one of Upstate's key National Institutes of Health-funded researchers to oversee the university's research operations. Over the past decade, Rochford is a highly funded researcher for her studies on associated lymphomas, malaria and Epstein-Barr virus. Rochford is a noted expert in the field of endemic Burkitt's lymphoma, and the role the Epstein-Barr virus plays in the disease, which is the most common childhood cancer in sub-Saharan Africa. The NIH provides funding for Rochford's research in Kenya, where she has established the Equatorial Africa Children's Cancer Fund to help children being treated at the Nyanza Provincial Hospital. She also has developed a model to test hemolytic toxicity of anti-malaria drugs resulting funding from Medicines for Malaria Venture and Department of Defense. "Dr. Rochford's success as a NIH-funded researcher along with her interest and collaborative work in the area of global health will take Upstate's research mission to the next level as we seek new initiatives aimed at sustaining and growing research funding, in both basic and clinical research," Smith said. Rochford joined Upstate in 2003 as an associate professor. She was named a full professor and chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology in 2007. Prior to joining Upstate, Rochford taught at the University of Michigan. Rochford's association with the NIH goes back more than a decade as an ad hoc reviewer on issues related to AIDS and cancer, pediatric cancers and infectious diseases. She serves on the editorial board of Experimental Biology and Medicine, and holds memberships in numerous associations, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, among others. Rochford earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland (1982), her doctorate in molecular biology from the University of California, Irvine, (1989) and held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of California, Irvine, (1989-1990) and the Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, Calif. (1990-1992)