Dr. Steven Kunkel is the Endowed Professor of Pathology Research, Co-Director of Sponsored Research in
the Department of Pathology, and Head of the Immunology Program at the University of Michigan Medical
School.
Most of Dr. Kunkel’s scientific work has been conducted in the Department of Pathology at The University
of Michigan, which he joined in 1980. Dr. Kunkel is an international leader in the field of
immunopathology, where he has provided fundamental insight into the cellular and molecular role of
cytokines as mediators of disease pathophysiology. His studies on inflammatory mediators helped launch
and define the field of chemokine biology, and established the important contribution of these factors in
a host of disease states. He was among the first scientists to demonstrate that specific cytokine
phenotypes can define disease activity and established the concept that both chemokines and specific
cytokines mechanistically contribute to disease chronicity. His seminal discoveries in the area of novel
inflammatory mediators have provided a significant translational segue from basic research to pathogenic
mechanisms of disease.
A North Dakota native, Dr. Kunkel received his B.S. and M.S at North Dakota State University and earned
his Ph.D. in microbiology at the University of Kansas. Prior to accepting a faculty appointment at the
University of Michigan, he finished his post-doctoral fellowship training in Dr. Peter A. Ward’s
laboratory at the University of Connecticut Health Sciences. Dr. Kunkel’s impact in the field of
immunology and inflammation can be effectively demonstrated in a variety of ways: He has co-authored
over 500 peer-reviewed manuscripts, contributed over 60 chapters to different books in his field, served
as the editor for four books, presented over 150 lectures as a visiting professor/lecturer in the past 10
years, maintained continuous funding of four major National Institute of Health grants for a number of
years, including serving as Principal Investigator on a Program Project, and was the recipient of an NIH
MERIT Award.
Dr. Kunkel has a sustained track record of public service on many Editorial Boards, Scientific Advisory
Committees and Boards of Directors, Professional Society Committees, Study Sections and Strategic
Planning Committees of the National Institute of Health and Chair of Gordon and Keystone Conferences. In
addition, he is currently the Chair of the Board of Scientific Counselors for the NIAID-NIH.
Dr. Kunkel is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and Association of
University Pathologists and has been the recipient of an Established Investigator Award from the American
Heart Association, Scientific Accomplishment Award from the American Thoracic Society, Distinguished
Faculty Achievement Award and Distinguished Faculty Lectureship Award from the University of Michigan,
and a Master’s Award of the College of Math and Science from North Dakota State University.
