Tamara L. Doering, MD, PhD, earned a bachelor’s degree with honors from Johns Hopkins University. After completing the Medical Scientist Training Program at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California at Berkeley, a visiting scientist at Albert Einstein Medical College, and an Assistant Professor at Cornell University Medical College. She joined the faculty of Washington University Medical School in 1999, where she is now the Alumni Endowed Professor of Molecular Microbiology.
Dr. Doering has a long-standing interest in the biosynthetic processes that generate glycans, which began during her undergraduate research on bacteria in the laboratory of Saul Roseman. Related to this theme, she pursued graduate studies on GPI synthesis in trypanosomes with Paul Englund and Gerald Hart and post-doctoral research on yeast GPI-anchored protein transport with Randy Schekman. Her interest in glycobiology also led to her current work on the pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans. Motivated by the fascinating biology and severe disease impact of this microbe, she has investigated the mechanisms of synthesis of cryptococcal glycans, particularly the extensive polysaccharide capsule that is a major virulence factor. In recent years she has also broadened her research interests to include cryptococcal gene regulation, host interactions, and genomic features related to virulence.
Dr. Doering is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, and a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation. She has also served as a regular reviewer for the National Institutes of Health, an editorial board member and reviewer for many scientific journals, and an advisory board member for the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. Among other honors she has received Burroughs Wellcome Fund Awards in Biomedical Sciences and in Molecular Pathogenic Mycology and a Mentor Award from the Academic Women’s Network of Washington University Medical School.
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