Diane Griffin is the Alfred and Jill Sommer Professor and Chair of the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is part of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...

. She holds joint appointments in the departments of Neurology and Medicine. In 2004, Dr. Griffin was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences

United States National Academy of Sciences

The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...

 (NAS) in the discipline of microbial biology.

Education and training

After earning her undergraduate degree from Augustana College

Augustana College (Illinois)

Augustana College is a private liberal arts college located in Rock Island, Illinois, United States. The college enrolls approximately 2,500 students. Covering of hilly, wooded land, Augustana is adjacent to the Mississippi River...

 in Rock Island, Illinois

Rock Island, Illinois

Rock Island is the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 40,884 at the 2010 census. Located on the Mississippi River, it is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Moline, East Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. The Quad Cities...

, she joined a join MD/PhD graduate program at Stanford University

Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

, where she pursued research on immunoglobulins. Griffin received her PhD and MD in 1968 and remained at Stanford Hospital

Stanford Hospital

Stanford Hospital and Clinics is known worldwide for advanced treatment of complex disorders in areas such as cardiovascular care, cancer treatment, neurosciences, surgery, and organ transplants. Consistently ranked among the nation's top hospitals, Stanford Hospital and Clinics is internationally...

 for her internship and residency

Residency (medicine)

Residency is a stage of graduate medical training. A resident physician or resident is a person who has received a medical degree , Podiatric degree , Dental Degree and who practices...

.

Dr. Griffin performed postdoctoral research in virology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Along with Janice E. Clements

Janice E. Clements

Janice Ellen Clements is Vice Dean for Faculty at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the Mary Wallace Stanton Professor of Faculty Affairs. She is a professor in the departments of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, Neurology, and Pathology, and has a joint appointment in Molecular...

 and others, Griffin is a notable trainee of neurovirology specialist Richard T. Johnson

Richard T. Johnson

Richard T. Johnson, M.D., is a physician and scientist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Johnson has been a faculty member in the Department of Neurology since its inception in 1969 and is the former head of the department...

.

Career

Dr. Griffin became a faculty member at Johns Hopkins in 1973 in the Department of Neurology. She attained the rank of full professor in 1986. In 1994, Griffin became the chair of the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is part of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...

, now known as the Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Research

Virology

Virology

Virology is the study of viruses and virus-like agents: their structure, classification and evolution, their ways to infect and exploit cells for virus reproduction, the diseases they cause, the techniques to isolate and culture them, and their use in research and therapy...

 has been Griffin's specialty since her postdoctoral work. Her research examines how the body responds to viral infection. Griffin has placed particular emphasis on the central nervous system

Central nervous system

The central nervous system is the part of the nervous system that integrates the information that it receives from, and coordinates the activity of, all parts of the bodies of bilaterian animals—that is, all multicellular animals except sponges and radially symmetric animals such as jellyfish...

, researching the effects of Sindbis virus

Sindbis virus

Sindbis Virus is a member of the Togaviridae family, in the alphavirus subfamily. The virus was first isolated in 1952 in Cairo, Egypt. The virus is transmitted by mosquitoes SINV causes sindbis fever in humans and the symptoms include arthralgia, rash and malaise...

 and the measles

Measles

Measles, also known as rubeola or morbilli, is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. Morbilliviruses, like other paramyxoviruses, are enveloped, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses...

 virus on the brain.

Honors and awards

• Dr. Griffin has received numerous awards and honorific memberships.

• Membership in the National Academy of Sciences (2004)
• Membership of the American Academy of Microbiology
• Membership in the Institute of Medicine
  Institute of Medicine
  The Institute of Medicine is a not-for-profit, non-governmental American organization founded in 1970, under the congressional charter of the National Academy of Sciences...
  
  
• ISNV Pioneer in NeuroVirology Award (2009)