W. Ian Lipkin | |
---|---|
Born | 1952 (age 64–65) Chicago, Illinois, United States |
Fields |
Epidemiology Neurology |
Institutions |
Scripps Research Institute Columbia University |
Education | University of Chicago Laboratory School |
Alma mater |
Sarah Lawrence College Rush Medical College |
W. Ian Lipkin (born 1952) is the John Snow Professor of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University and Professor of Neurology and Pathology at College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University. Lipkin is also Director of the Center for Infection and Immunity, an academic laboratory for microbe hunting in acute and chronic diseases.
Lipkin was born in Chicago, Illinois where he attended the University of Chicago Laboratory School. He was President of the Student Board in 1969. He received his BA from Sarah Lawrence College in 1974. He earned his MD from Rush Medical College, in 1978. He was a clinical clerk at the Institute for Neurology, Queen Square, in London, UK (1978–1979). He had a brief stint with the Indian Health Service in Tishomingo, Oklahoma in 1978. He then trained at University of Pittsburgh as an Intern in Medicine from 1978-79. He went on to complete a Residency in Medicine at University of Washington (1979–81), and a Residency in Neurology at University of California, San Francisco, (1981–1984). He conducted postdoctoral research in microbiology and neuroscience at The Scripps Research Institute from 1984-90. He was President of the Scripps' Society of Fellows in 1987.
A physician-scientist, Lipkin is internationally recognized for his work with West Nile virus and SARS, as well as advancing pathogen discovery techniques by developing a staged strategy using techniques pioneered in his lab. These molecular biological methods, including MassTag-PCR, the GreeneChip diagnostic, and High Throughput Sequencing, are a major step towards identifying and studying new viral pathogens that emerge locally throughout the globe. A major node in a global network of investigators working to address the challenges of pathogen surveillance and discovery, Dr. Lipkin has trained over 30 internationally based scientists in these state-of-the art diagnostic techniques.