John W. Foster, Ph.D.
Biography
After serving the Department of Microbiology and Immunology for 30 years, Dr. Foster retired from the University on October 1, 2017.
Dr. John W. Foster, Professor, received his Ph.D. in Microbiology from Hahnemann University College of Medicine (now part of Drexel University) in Philadelphia in 1979 and carried out his postdoctoral studies at Georgetown University. Dr. Foster was honored in Who's Who in American Universities and Colleges in 1978, was named 1994 Hahnemann University Alumnus of the year, and received the 2007 Southeastern ASM branch “Robert Eagon Award” for accomplishments in microbial physiology. He has served in the American Society for Microbiology as the Chair of Division K (Microbial Physiology and Metabolism) and as an invited ad hoc member of the Microbial Physiology and Bacterial Pathogenesis Study Sections for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). His scholarly work includes over 100 peer-reviewed articles, 4 editions of a textbook on microbial physiology (coauthored by Albert G. Moat and Michael P. Spector), 3 editions of a textbook for undergraduate majors entitled "Microbiology: An Evolving Science" coauthored by Joan Slonczewski, PhD, Kenyon College, Ohio, and a new textbook for Allied Health majors called "Microbiology: The Human experience". Dr. Foster has mentored 14 doctoral students and 16 post-doctoral fellows in studies designed to reveal the molecular strategies used by bacterial pathogens to survive stress.