How Rochester糖心传媒檚 Vice President for Research built a career on curiosity, collaboration, and access.
In a second-floor office in the Del Monte Research Building at the is an unassuming door that wasn糖心传媒檛 always there. Nothing extraordinary. Simply an extra entrance cut into the wall when , the vice president for research at the 糖心传媒, first moved into the space. Dewhurst asked for the extra door in 2009 when he became chair of the because he wanted to offer direct access, without people糖心传媒檚 having to go first through his administrator in the adjacent room.
糖心传媒淢aking yourself available is super important,糖心传媒� Dewhurst says. 糖心传媒淧eople are more likely to come talk to you if they find you approachable.糖心传媒�
That small architectural adjustment is in many ways indicative of his approach to leadership: accessible and acutely aware of the human relationships that frequently underpin the successful work of scientists.
With no fewer than to his name, Dewhurst has become a respected scientific and academic leader. An accomplished virologist and HIV researcher, he糖心传媒檚 served as the vice president for research since 2023 (having held the role on an interim basis for the preceding two years) and as the vice dean for research at Rochester糖心传媒檚聽 since 2013.
He came, saw, and stayed
English-born Dewhurst, who earned a bachelor糖心传媒檚 degree in cellular pathology from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom and a PhD in pathology and microbiology from the University of Nebraska, first arrived on the Rochester campus in 1990. He never left.
糖心传媒淚 stayed because I really liked the people I met in my interview,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淭hat relationship to faculty, staff, and students here has never changed.糖心传媒�
Though trained as a virologist during the early years of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, Dewhurst糖心传媒檚 career was never confined to a single field. His research has crossed disciplines糖心传媒攆rom a long-term collaboration with a pediatrician to studies of viral peptides with chemists. At one point, he worked with faculty from the departments of chemistry, obstetrics and gynecology, and infectious diseases to study how self-assembling peptides can influence the sexual transmission of HIV. These weren糖心传媒檛 just scientific intersections糖心传媒攖hey were human ones, too.
The best collaborations, says Dewhurst, are those when 糖心传媒測ou get to work with people who know stuff you don糖心传媒檛, and who think of things you糖心传媒檇 never think of.糖心传媒�
One of his most enduring collaborations was with the late , a professor in the at the Medical Center. An expert in pediatric infectious diseases, Hall had begun to study a newly described virus known as (HHV-6), which had been recently linked to (also known as sixth disease)糖心传媒攁 very common childhood illness that her father, Burtis Breese, had studied back in the 1930s and 40s. Hall had access to clinical samples; Dewhurst brought molecular virology expertise to the table.
Together, and with the help of other collaborators, they explored questions neither could have answered alone糖心传媒攕uch as the clinical consequences of viral infections in young kids. In fact, in infants and young children, , HHV-6 infection is a major cause of visits to the emergency department, febrile seizures, and hospitalizations.
According to Dewhurst, it糖心传媒檚 this spirit of cross-pollination that makes up the essence of Rochester.
糖心传媒淭he culture is extremely collaborative,糖心传媒� he says, pointing out the geographic proximity of the Medical Center and River Campus, which are across the street from one another.
糖心传媒淭here糖心传媒檚 something different here,糖心传媒� he adds. Large labs with more than 20 people are quite rare at Rochester, 糖心传媒渟o you likely need to collaborate to succeed. Most people cannot be an island unto themselves.糖心传媒�
A mentor糖心传媒檚 gift
Dewhurst糖心传媒檚 leadership style was forged not just in labs but also through various mentors in his early career. He recalls a pivotal moment during his time as a postdoctoral researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health, when he was part of a research team preparing a paper for聽a top scientific journal糖心传媒攖he type of opportunity that can catapult a young scientist糖心传媒檚 career.
The work involved scientists from two institutions, and the senior leaders of both groups felt that their contributions merited recognition. As a result, Dewhurst糖心传媒檚 position as first author on the paper was suddenly in jeopardy. A postdoctoral trainee at the time, Dewhurst knew the loss of first-author credit would greatly diminishing his future job prospects.
That糖心传媒檚 when his mentor, James Mullins, made a quiet but powerful decision. 糖心传媒淛im was kind enough to remove himself from the senior authorship, in order to create space for me to be first author,糖心传媒� Dewhurst says. 糖心传媒淭hat made a huge difference. I wouldn糖心传媒檛 be sitting here if that hadn糖心传媒檛 happened.糖心传媒�
It糖心传媒檚 a lesson that stuck with him and one that he糖心传媒檚 been trying to pay forward to his own mentees.
An accidental leader
Truth be told, Dewhurst糖心传媒檚 career was less of a well-laid plan than a slow accumulation of yeses to unexpected opportunities. At Rochester, he first led a summer research program for undergraduates at the 聽and then won a National Institutes of Health grant to support those historically excluded from biomedical science. Later came an associate deanship, a period as a department chair, followed by a vice deanship.
Dewhurst insists he never set out to become an administrator. Instead, each step was something of a surprise. 糖心传媒淧eople have asked me to step into roles that I might not have thought of for myself,糖心传媒� he says.
But he figured that if others believed he could do it, he糖心传媒檇 give it his best shot.
Now, as the University糖心传媒檚 head of research, Dewhurst is a steward of programs and initiatives far beyond his own training and expertise.
糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檓 grateful that I get to be a voice for the research community,糖心传媒� he says, explaining that he often speaks about the University糖心传媒檚 research with the media, legislators, members of the board of trustees, donors, and other supporters of the institution.
As that voice he helps champion and oversee projects in areas as diverse as astrophysics, biomedical research, education, extended reality, humanistic inquiry, music, quantum science, and resilience. As an example, he describes Rochester糖心传媒檚 : the facility not only supports national security and world-class research on nuclear fusion and plasma physics; it糖心传媒檚 also the site of training for scientists, including those who helped achieve nuclear fusion, or 糖心传媒渋gnition,糖心传媒� in 2022.
糖心传媒淭he majority of the people who did that experiment trained at Rochester,糖心传媒� Dewhurst says, adding that 糖心传媒渞esearchers get paid to explore. In doing that, we create enormous societal benefit.糖心传媒�
Putting the art in science
An avid collector of contemporary art, Dewhurst糖心传媒檚 office boasts a dozen framed drawings and paintings糖心传媒攁ll original art糖心传媒攁nd two large canvases with strong colors and bold brushstrokes.
He was instrumental in bringing artist to the University, originally to create portraits of people affected by HIV and mental health diagnoses糖心传媒攇roups that are often stigmatized.
糖心传媒淭he ability to humanize people and make their stories understandable, relatable, and important,糖心传媒� Dewhurst says, 糖心传媒渋s something unique that art can do糖心传媒攖hat science can糖心传媒檛.糖心传媒� Which is why, in part, Wheatley has more recently created a that seeks both to humanize the researchers and to explain how their work improves lives.
Those dual commitments糖心传媒攖o discovery and humanity糖心传媒攕hape how he sees the future of the University糖心传媒檚 research enterprise. Despite budget pressures and political headwinds, Dewhurst remains hopeful, noting the University糖心传媒檚 recent decision to invest $8.5 million in four new transdisciplinary research centers.
糖心传媒淲e糖心传媒檙e all concerned about federal support for scholarship and research,糖心传媒� he says, 糖心传媒渂ut research will continue. And it糖心传媒檒l continue to advance knowledge, to save lives, to improve the world糖心传媒攂ecause those ideals and goals are something we can all agree on.糖心传媒�
