Jeffrey Actor, PhD

jeffrey-actor

Jeffrey K. Actor, PhD
Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Email:  Jeffrey.K.Actor@uth.tmc.edu
Phone:  713-500-5344

Dr. Jeffrey K. Actor, Ph.D. has established himself as a productive educator-scientist (tenured, full Professor) with a strong background in immunology and molecular biology with a broad range of expertise in pathobiology. He has shown a commitment to education, at both the Medical School and Graduate School levels. His personal goals include teaching of immune related knowledge and skills to junior faculty, residents, medical students and graduate students, to allow them to achieve a strong understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms of pathobiology occurring during models of infectious disease. Dr. Actor held the position of course director for the Medical Immunology course for first year medical students from 2001-2016, and also served as a co-course director for the Clinical Applications course at the Medical School. He current lectures, primarily in immune response and pathogen-host interactions to various graduate school program courses.

Dr. Actor is an inaugural member of the Academy of Master Educators at the UT-Houston Medical School, and has been instrumental as a mentor to junior faculty in guidance towards achieving teaching and research goals. He has been a member of the Graduate School in Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) at the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center for more 18 years, and served on the executive council of the Immunology and the Molecular Pathology graduate programs. He recently served as the Chair of the Academic Standards Committee and Chair of the Membership Committee for the GSBS.

In addition to over 100 peer-reviewed publications and multiple book chapters on immunopathology, Dr. Actor has authored a textbook entitled: Elsevier’s Integrated Immunology and Microbiology, (Elsevier, Philadelphia, PA), part of a unique integrated series linking basic science courses for medical students in preparation for USMLE Step I. A second authored Immunology text, entitled Introductory Immunology (Elsevier, Philadelphia, PA), was released in 2014. Dr. Actor has received the Dean’s Teaching Excellence Award 15 times since 2000. He has also received the Best Teacher: Immunology Award given by the UT Medical School Student Class each and every year since 2004. In 2005 and 2006 he, along with Dr. William Seifert, were awarded the UT-Medical School Master Teacher Award, geared at Integration of First Year Basic Science Concepts via the Utilization of Case-Based Team Learning Exercises.

Dr. Actor has demonstrated academic leadership and academic expertise in research on multiple levels. He serves as the section editor of Immunotherapeutic and Vaccines for Frontiers in Immunology, and sits the editorial board for four peer-reviewed journals (International Immunopharmacology, Tuberculosis Research and Treatment; Mycobacterial Diseases: Tuberculosis & Leprosy; Genes & Immunity) and has been the main editor for Special Topics Journal Issues (Emerging Directions in TB Research and Clinical Affairs. Tuberculosis (Edinb), Proceedings highlighting the Texas Tuberculosis Research Symposium – 2009, 2011, and 2016. Dr. Actor served as a regular attendee for NIH grant review panels related to themes of Immunology, Anti-Infective Therapeutics, Microbial Vaccines, and Opportunistic Infections. He has served as the current chair of the Microbial Vaccines Study Section (ZRG1) since 2012. He also participates in reviews for the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology, and is an ad hoc review member for multiple other national and international foundations.