By Ann Comer-Woods, USF Research & Innovation
University of South Florida Professors Christian Bréchot, MD, PhD, and Lindsey Shaw, PhD, have been elected fellows of the 2025 class of the American Academy of Microbiology. Elected through a highly selective, peer-review process based on their records of scientific achievement and original contributions that have advanced microbiology, the 65 new fellows hail from nine countries, including Australia, Denmark, Mexico, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S.
Professor Christian Bréchot, MD, PhD
Bréchot is a professor in the Division of Infectious Disease & International Medicine in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. He also serves as Senior Associate Dean for Research on Global Affairs and Associate Vice President for International Partnerships and Innovation at USF. He has been the president of the French NIH and then Institut Pasteur. From 2017 to 2023, he was president of the Global Virus Network.
His research integrates molecular and cellular biology, virology, hepatology and oncology, with a current focus on investigating the role of a C-type lectin (Reg3A/HIP) in resistance to insulin, diabetic neuropathy and Alzheimers diseases. Brechot has authored more than 400 articles published in medical and scientific journals and contributed to the creation of three biotech companies. He also holds 18 patents.
Professor Lindsey Shaw, PhD
Shaw is a professor and the associate chair of the Department of Molecular Biosciences in the College of Arts & Sciences. He is also the director of the Center for Antimicrobial Resistance and the Richard and Patricia Wood Endowed Chair in Natural Sciences. His research focuses on the pathogenic and drug resistance mechanisms of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, with a primary focus on Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
He has made significant advances in defining the regulatory processes ongoing within bacteria cells that contribute to virulence factor expression and the progression of disease. In the area of therapeutics, Shaw holds 14 patents and was part of a team that isolated and identified a new chemical, Darwinolide, which eliminates more than 98 percent of MRSA cells growing within a biofilm.
The Academy has over 2,600 fellows representing all subspecialties of the microbial sciences and who are involved in basic and applied research, teaching, public health, industry and government service. This year, the Academy received 146 nominations for fellowship from across the globe.