Clifford Wayne Houston

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Clifford Wayne Houston (born December 3, 1949) is a microbiologist, educator, and the first African American president of the American Society of Microbiology.[1][2] Presently, he is a Herman Barnett Distinguished Professor as well as the Associate Vice President for Educational Outreach and Diversity for the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB).[3]

Early life and education

Childhood

Clifford Wayne Houston was born to Mae Francis Hanley and Edgar Houston on December 3, 1949 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.[3] The elementary school he attended was Gordan Oaks Elementary and his junior high school was John F. Kennedy Junior High School.[3] As an adolescent, Houston attended a science seminar, which became the basis for his interest in science.[3] He attained multiple high honors at Douglass and Northeast High School before graduating in 1968.[3]

College

After graduating from high school, Clifford enrolled in Oklahoma State University in 1968, and while in college he was a part of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.[3] He received his Bachelor of Science in both biology and chemistry in 1972 and an M.Sc. in biology in 1974.[3] In 1979, Houston received his PhD in microbiology and immunology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.[3] After graduating, Houston was awarded by the UTMB with a postdoctoral fellowship.[3]

Career

UTMB

In 1981, Houston started as an assistant researcher at UTMB.[3] Afterward, in 1987, he got a promotion to become an associate professor with tenure.[3] In this position, one of the things he researched was how a rat's behavior would change when its adrenal gland was removed.[3] In 1991, he became a full professor at UTMB.[3] In the same year, he was appointed as the associate vice president at the Office for Educational Outreach and Diversity at UTMB.[3] His research at UTMB was focused on how bacterial toxins affect the way diseases develop in a person.[3] An example of this is his research to develop a test to detect the presence of salmonella toxins.[3] Much of his findings during this time were published in academic journals such as the Journal of Clinical Microbiology, Journal of Infectious Diseases, and Journal of Bacteriology.[3]

NASA

In 2003-2005, Houston served as the Deputy Associate Administrator for Education at NASA's Office of Education.[3] His main role at this position was to give help to people of all education levels and types.[3]

American Society of Microbiology

In 2006, Houston was elected as the first black president of the ASM, the world's largest professional biological research organization with over 45,000 members.[3] During his tenure as president, the organization made greater efforts to attract the attention of minority participants.[2]

Other

In 1994, Houston took part as an administrator in the

American Academy of Microbiology. He was on the National Institutes of General Medical Sciences External Advisory Council.[3] Houston was the chair of the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students.[3] Kathleen Sebelius, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services at the time, appointed him to the National Advisory Board for Bio Security in 2011.[3]

Accolades

Houston was named a Herman Barnett Distinguished Professor of Microbiology and Immunology and the Academy of Microbiology elected him in 1997.[3] In 2000, he received the Presidential Award in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. In 2007, Houston became the first black person elected as the president of the American Society of Microbiologists.[1]

Personal Life

He lives in Galveston with his wife and son while continuing to mentor youth in STEM in the community.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Potter, Leah (2023-01-17). "Exploring ASM's DEI History: Celebrating and Learning From Our Past". American Society for Microbiology. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  2. ^ a b Johnson-Thompson, Maria (2007). "Revisiting the Contributions of African-American Scientists to ASM" (PDF). asm.org. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z "CLIFFORD HOUSTON". TheHistoryMakers. January 31, 2013. Archived from the original on June 17, 2023. Retrieved February 22, 2024.

External links

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