Terrie E. Taylor, D.O., University Distinguished Professor and MSU Research Foundation Professor at the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, is president-elect of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. She will begin her one-year term at the society’s annual meeting later this November; in November 2025, she will become president.
“I think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Dr. Taylor said, looking forward to her new future with ASTMH. “The staff are extremely dedicated, they’ve been with us for years, they’ve internalized the society’s mission. They’re all really thrilled to be able to contribute to the training, service and research capabilities the society supports.”
During her time as president-elect – and then president and president-emeritus – Dr. Taylor will have two key foci. First, she wants to broaden funding for the society to support and bolster its activities. Her second goal is to improve the reintegration of endemic-area investigators. This means increasing local research resources for professionals who return to their home countries after earning their Ph.D.s or post-docs, who, more often than not, become assigned to clinical services and administrative responsibilities, instead of scientific investigation.
“You need to be able to justify stepping back from clinical and administrative responsibilities in favor of establishing a research program at your institution,” Dr. Taylor explained. “One way to do that is through research support – figuring out mechanisms for returning investigators to do this will go a long way toward helping them establish themselves.”
As a professional, Dr. Taylor grew up in ASTMH. She began participating when she was an internal medicine resident. She eventually started presenting her own data and won the society’s Young Investigator Award in 1987. In more recent years, she’s felt proud watching her students and trainees present their own primary data. In 2014, Dr. Taylor was honored to present as the society’s Charles Franklin Craig Lecturer, describing the potential to eradicate deaths caused by malarial disease.
“Being elected is really an opportunity to contribute to the society that has really been my professional home for all these years,” Dr. Taylor reflected. “I’m thrilled to be able to try and do something helpful for it.”
ASTMH envisions a world free of tropical infectious diseases. These diseases, often caused by viruses, parasites and bacteria, include, but are not limited to, dengue fever, malaria, AIDS, Ebola, E. coli and tuberculosis.
Founded in 1903, ASTMH is the society for a wide range of professionals involved in global health work, including entomologists, epidemiologists, clinicians, drug developers, parasitologists and others. Its members, stationed across the globe, range from students to experts, all of whom are dedicated to reducing the worldwide burden of these diseases in an effort to improve global health. In addition to producing and promoting scientific knowledge that informs health policy and practice, ASTMH supports and promotes the excellence of physicians and scientists, and advocates for future investments with Congress and other entities that work in the global health arena.
Read more from Dr. Taylor about her work in tropical infectious diseases, ASTMH activities and honors.
By E. LaClear