Jason Huntley named College of Medicine senior associate dean of faculty affairs and faculty development

Jason Huntley, PhD, has been named senior associate dean of faculty affairs and faculty development at the Texas A&M University College of Medicine, effective Sept. 1, 2024.

In this role, he will be responsible for all aspects of mentoring and supervising staff and faculty in the College of Medicine Office of Faculty Affairs and the Office of Professional Development, including developing and implementing policy changes and guidelines, overseeing faculty searches and promotion and tenure review, assisting with faculty retention programs and consulting on faculty grievances.

He comes to Texas A&M after 14 years at the University of Toledo, where he was a tenured professor of microbiology and, since 2022, associate dean of faculty affairs and development.

In this latter role, Huntley was responsible for similar programs, including recruitment, onboarding, retention, policy vetting, promotion and tenure, and faculty development. In addition, he launched junior and mid-career faculty mentoring programs, an Academy of Mentors and related initiatives. He also was active on numerous university-wide committees, including the University Research Council and provost’s office Academic Leadership Team, and co-chaired the committee that developed the university’s 2023-2028 strategic plan. Among other contributions at the national level, he has served on National Institutes of Health (NIH) study sections, co-chaired national conferences of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM Biothreats) and has served on organizing committees for several national and international scientific conferences.

As a scientist, Huntley has focused on answering fundamental questions about the virulence of the bacterium that causes tularemia—a highly dangerous infectious disease that could be used as a bioweapon—and the development of vaccines to prevent this infection and disease. Huntley’s studies have been funded by the both the NIH and Department of Defense. In addition, following harmful blooms of cyanobacteria—also known as blue-green algae—in Lake Erie that led to a water crisis in 2014, his laboratory has worked on bioremediation methods to remove peptide toxins from lakes for clean drinking water. He holds a patent on this latter technology.

Huntley earned an Master of Science in veterinary microbiology and PhD in veterinary pathology from Iowa State University. He then completed post-doctoral training at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas from 2004 to 2010, including being awarded an infectious diseases fellowship from UT Southwestern.

His numerous awards and honors include the President’s Award for Excellence in Grantsmanship from the University of Toledo and representing the university as a fellow for the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Academic Leadership Development Program.