We are pleased to announce that Chad Rappleye, Ph.D., Professor in the Department of Microbiology, College of Arts & Sciences, and in the Department of Microbial Infection & Immunity, College of Medicine, joined the IDI leadership team as an associate director this month. Dr. Rappleye (pictured left) was appointed to a three-year term as an IDI associate director, taking over the position previously held by Dr. Mike Ibba (pictured right).
After earning a Ph.D. from the University of California San Diego in 2002 and training as a postdoc at Washington University from 2002 to 2006, Dr. Rappleye joined Ohio State in 2006. His research focuses on the molecular mechanisms that underlie the virulence of the respiratory fungal pathogen Histoplasma capsulatum, the causative agent of histoplasmosis. Dr. Rappleye chairs the Department of Microbiology’s Graduate Studies Committee and serves as the vice-chair of the Institutional Biosafety Committee at Ohio State. Dr. Rappleye received the Ohio State Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching in 2019. Please join us in in congratulating Chad on his new appointment!
After nearly 20 years at Ohio State, Dr. Ibba will be joining Chapman University as Dean of the Schmid College of Science and Technology. Mike Ibba, Ph.D., joined the Department of Microbiology as an Assistant Professor in 2001. During his tenure at Ohio State, he chaired the Department of Microbiology from 2013 to 2020 and served as an IDI associate director and chair of the IDI Interdisciplinary Seed Grant Program from 2017 to 2020. Dr. Ibba was instrumental in shaping the foundational success of IDI, and he will be truly missed. Best of luck, Mike!