Patricia Fitzgerald-Bocarsly, PhD

Dr. Fitzgerald-Bocarsly is Provost of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences–Newark, tenured Professor and Vice-Chair for Research of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. She earned her BS in biochemistry from the University of California Los Angeles, an MA in microbiology from the University of California Davis, and PhD in microbiology/immunology from Boston University School of Medicine, completing her postdoctoral training as a fellow at the Sloan-Kettering Institute. Her highly collaborative basic science research program is focused on innate immune responses to human viral infections, with a concentration on the basic biology of dendritic cells, and their dysregulation in HIV infection and aging. In addition to her basic science research, Dr. Fitzgerald-Bocarsly is a co-investigator on the Weill Cornell Medical College-NJMS AIDS Clinical Trials Grant from the NIH, serving as director of laboratory for the NJMS site. She has also served as a member of numerous NIH study sections, including as permanent member and Chair of the NIH’s AIDS Immunology and Pathogenesis Study Section, and has chaired several ad hoc study sections.

In addition, Dr. Fitzgerald-Bocarsly serves or has served on editorial boards of several prestigious journals and has held committee roles in several societies including on the Committee for the Status of Women for the American Association of Immunologists, the Awards Committee for the International Cytokine and Interferon Society, and the Publications Committee for the Society for Leukocyte Biology. Career honors include the Dolph Adams award from the Society for Leukocyte Biology, NJMS Faculty of the Year Award, NJMS Faculty Organization Mentoring Award, and the Foundation Research Award.

From an academic administration and service perspective, Dr. Fitzgerald-Bocarsly has served as an active member of numerous search committees, is Scientific Director for the NJMS Flow Cytometry and Immunology Core, and has served as chair of IACUC and the Institutional Planning and Development committee, and served on Faculty Affairs, Student Affairs, the LCME Task Force, and the Executive Council of the School of Graduate Studies Newark. She served as President of the NJMS Faculty Organization, was the first President of the RBHS Faculty Council, and a representative to the University Senate. Highly relevant to her role as Provost, she served for five years as chair of the NJMS Faculty Committee on Appointments and Promotion. She is a member of the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and the Center for Immunity and Inflammation as well as the Institute for Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases. As a teacher and mentor throughout her career, Dr. Fitzgerald-Bocarsly has mentored 33 PhD students in her laboratory, including six MD/PhD students, as well as many master’s students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty members.