Ralph S. Baric BS, PhD

Dr. Ralph Baric received his BS degree from North Carolina State University in 1977. He obtained his PhD from the Department of Microbiology at North Carolina State University in 1982, studying alphavirus-host interaction and pathogenesis under the direction of Dr. Robert E. Johnston. He continued his postdoctoral training on coronavirus replication and pathogenesis under the direction of Dr. Michael M.C. Lai at the University of Southern California.

In 1996, Dr. Baric was hired as an assistant professor in the Department of Parasitology and Laboratory Practice and is currently a professor in the Departments of Epidemiology, and Microbiology and Immunology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

During his early training, Dr. Baric was a Harvey Weaver Scholar for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and an Established Investigator for the American Heart Association, awards associated with his studies focusing on coronavirus replication, cross species transmission, persistence, evolution and pathogenesis. He is currently a member of the editorial board of Journal of Virology, has served as a reviewer in many NIH study sections, has been a consultant for WHO, CDC and NIH, and has served on various institutional recombinant DNA review committees.

Dr. Baric has published over 70 peer-reviewed manuscripts including some in high profile journals like Science, Proceedings for the National Academy of Science and Nature Medicine and his research efforts are supported by several research grants from the National Institutes of Health.