Biographical Feature: William Michael Dunne, Jr., Ph.D.

TEXT

After a first perusal of William Michael Dunne, Jr.'s, lengthy curriculum vitae, I tried to gather my thoughts as to how best to approach writing his biographical feature, and I quickly realized that it was going to be no small task. So, how does one best capture the essence of Mike Dunne? My impression of Mike, the first time I met him, now a number of years ago, was that he is “larger than life” (an impression that still remains). When Mike arrives, be it at a scientific or editorial meeting, a social get-together, or anywhere, his personality never fails to fill the room.

Dr. Dunne's roots were laid down in the Midwest; he received his B.S. degree in medical technology at the University of Wisconsin. Subsequently, Dr. Dunne received his Ph.D. in microbiology at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, in 1981. He remained in Milwaukee, where he completed a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship in medical and public health microbiology; he became a diplomate of the American Board of Medical Microbiology (ABMM) in 1987. It is also worth noting that Mike attended business school at the University of Michigan part time for 4 years.

After completing his postdoctoral fellowship, Mike became the chief of the immunology laboratory at the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, also in Milwaukee, a position he held for 7 years, advancing from assistant to associate professor. He left to direct the clinical microbiology and serology laboratory at Texas Children's Hospital and was an associate professor of pathology and pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX, for 2 years. He then left Texas to assume directorship of the microbiology laboratory in the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, MI, and became an associate professor of pathology at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. In 2000, he moved to the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO, where he was the medical director of the Barnes-Jewish Hospital clinical microbiology laboratory. His academic appointments at Washington University School of Medicine have been as a professor in the Departments of Pathology and Immunology, Molecular Microbiology, Medicine, and Pediatrics.

Mike has played major roles in clinical microbiology in all its content areas, including clinical practice, research, professional society service, and education. He has served on numerous committees on the national level; the list is extensive. For example, Mike served on the examination boards, including both part I and part II, of the ABMM, on the Committee on Postdoctoral Education Programs, ABMM, as chairman of the part 1b Examination and Review Committee, ABMM, as chair of the Standards and Education Committee, ABMM, and as vice chair and chair of the ABMM. He was also a member of multiple colloquium steering committees, as well as various award selection committees, for the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). In addition, Dr. Dunne has served on numerous editorial boards, including those for Pediatric Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Pediatric and Developmental Pathology, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, and Journal of Clinical Microbiology, for which he also served as an editor. His contributions have been recognized; he received the TREK Diagnostic ABMM/ABMLI Professional Award, ASM, and was elected as a fellow for the American Academy of Microbiology in 1993, the Infectious Diseases Society of America in 2012, and the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society in 2015. In addition, Dr. Dunne was a lecturer for the ASM Foundation for Microbiology from 1995 through 1997.

How does one possibly summarize in this small space the contributions to the field Mike has made? To lend perspective as to the challenge of this task, one could mention that Mike has 175 peer-reviewed publications, 10 book chapters, 113 abstracts, and 9 letters and editorials, all to his credit, from an academic/scholarly view. His latest project is a book he edited with Dr. Carey-Ann Burnham, entitled The Dark Art of Blood Cultures, soon to be published by ASM Press. These contributions involve clinical microbiology practices, use of new technologies, aspects of the immune response, including apoptosis, the inflammatory response to acute infection, and more. Mike has an uncanny sense for identifying emerging critical issues needing to be addressed in the practice of clinical microbiology, often well before these issues have fully emerged. As noted by Gary Doern, Ph.D., professor emeritus at the University of Iowa Roy J. Carver College of Medicine, “Mike Dunne has made enormous contributions to the practice of clinical microbiology … His scholarship has been impeccable and broad reaching; it is not an exaggeration to say that many of Mike Dunne's research observations have resulted directly in fundamental paradigm shifts in clinical microbiology practice.” Mike's impact in clinical microbiology is underscored by Jack Ladenson, Ph.D., professor of clinical chemistry in the Division of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine, Department of Pathology, Washington University School of Medicine. “Mike understood well the need for clinical microbiology to evolve from its historical orientation of infection control and public health to that of a diagnostic laboratory whose results would determine patient diagnosis treatment and outcome in real time. He readily realized the need for new technology to accomplish that and has greatly aided the evolution of clinical microbiology.” After 11 years in St. Louis, Mike assumed the position of executive director, research and development, North America, for bioMérieux, Inc., in Durham, NC. Two years later, he became vice president of research and development and is now a senior fellow, clinical microbiology data analytics groups, at bioMérieux, Inc. Since 2011, Dr. Dunne has also been adjunct professor of pathology and immunology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO, and adjunct professor of pediatrics at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, NC. A colleague at bioMérieux, Alex van Belkum, Ph.D., chief scientific officer, bioMérieux, Inc., La Balme Les Grottes, France, underscores Mike's unique ability to bridge the immediate needs of the clinical microbiologist while possessing the vision to determine where the discipline should proceed and then advise industry. “‘Dunneski' (as Gary Doern always refers to him) is a clinical microbiologist of international fame and quality. Encyclopedic knowledge ranging from (way too many) obscure details to major clinical concepts. Extremely important that expertise at his level is safeguarded and also shared between academia and business. Only with shuttle vectoring like that can clinical microbiology in the end be significantly improved. I think that neither academics nor industry developers completely comprehend the great value and potential importance of characters such as Mike!!!” These qualities of Mike Dunne are also fully recognized by Alexandre Mérieux, chief executive officer, bioMérieux, Inc. “Mike Dunne joined bioMérieux in 2010 as director, research and development, for our Durham facilities. His contribution to set up a pragmatic approach between our industrial developments and the fast evolution of Sciences is key … Mike had a long history of collaborative efforts with us, and those experiences, combined with his perfect understanding of the clinical microbiology diagnostic field, bring a tremendous support to our product development.”

Although his scholarly and professional accomplishments are outstanding, Mike considers a different area of work to be his most important. In his own words, “Accomplishments that I consider the most gratifying? Being given the opportunity to establish the fellowship in medical and public health microbiology at Washington University in 2001 and the many successful fellows that have emanated from that program, including Carey-Ann Burnham, the current director. Those past and current fellows formed the core of authors for the book The Dark Art of Blood Cultures, soon to be published by ASM Press (shameless marketing).” As so eloquently stated by Paula Revell, Ph.D., D(ABMM), Texas Children's Hospital, clinical and molecular microbiology and virology laboratories, and assistant professor of pathology and pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, “In my opinion, our impact on our field is less about the individual scientific discoveries we make and more about the legacy we leave through those we train. By training many excellent clinical microbiologists and medical technologists through the years, Mike has made a solid and positive stamp on our profession. Mike not only taught the scientific aspects of the clinical microbiology laboratory but also the importance of integrating the laboratory into the overall clinical care of the patient. Laboratorians should not live in a basement and isolate ourselves but rather be active participants in the care provided to patients. Mike led by example and taught us all well. His impact on the field can be measured by the many laboratory directors who trained under him and now practice his brand of patient-centered clinical microbiology in academic centers, public health labs, and hospitals across the country.” Mike's mentorship skills are further underscored by another former fellow of his, Carey-Ann Burnham, Ph.D., D(ABMM), medical director, clinical microbiology, Barnes Jewish Hospital, associate professor, pathology and immunology, molecular microbiology, and pediatrics, and program director, CPEP Program in Medical and Public Health Microbiology. “While Mike has many accomplishments and achievements, I know one that he is very proud of is the fellowship program that he started at Washington University. The graduates from Mike's program have gone on to be leaders in the field of clinical microbiology, and Mike's mentorship and guidance continues even after the formal training is completed. I was extraordinarily fortunate to complete my fellowship training with Mike. He is an exceptional teacher and always blended humor with instruction, which made the lessons both fun and memorable. In addition, Mike is a walking encyclopedia of microbiology knowledge. Mike is a humble, kind, and generous person and he is never too busy to make time for the people that are important to him.” And yet another former fellow is Christopher Doern, Ph.D., associate director, clinical microbiology laboratory, and assistant professor of pathology. “When I think about all of the things that Mike has accomplished, I believe the thing that he would say he is most proud of professionally is his fellowship program. Mike was the perfect mentor. You knew he cared about you and your development as a clinical microbiologist because he treated you like a member of his family. As is the case with most good mentors, Mike inspired you to do your best. Even long after having left fellowship, I think many, if not all, of Mike's fellows would say they are still motivated to make him proud.” These statements from past fellows attest to Mike's mentoring and, as such, his major contributions to clinical microbiology by virtue of training amazing clinical microbiologists. His fellows are now recognized as leaders in the field of clinical microbiology, and this is Mike's legacy to all of us.

Now to turn to more Dunne essence. One only needs to turn to the preface of the new book The Dark Art of Blood Cultures, soon to be published by ASM Press (edited by him and Carey-Ann Burnham), to capture more of Mike's essence. “The title and cover we selected for this book underscores the slightly warped sense of humor we have integrated into the training program over the years, and even today, there are a number of inside jokes shared by this family as it continues to grow. In that vein (there's the first pun), a good microbiologist who recovers Eikenella corrodens from a blood culture will always ask about bite marks. It is our hope that this compendium of all things blood culture will also continue to expand with future editions and will always include graduates of the Washington University program both before and after they leave to direct clinical microbiology laboratories of their own. We might have not provided a complete evaluation of all the technologies that have come and gone over the years, but we'll stick with it (second pun).”

And last but not least, important accomplishments of a more personal nature are noted by Mike. “I am also most proud of my three sons, Ben (M.D., anesthesia and critical care), Jeff (Ph.D., plant genetics and breeding), and Lane (M.L.S., A.S.C.P.). Finally, my career would be basically useless without the support of my brilliant and beautiful wife and best friend of 38 years, Linda.”

In closing, some may not be aware of Mike's artistic accomplishments; an example of his art skills is shown in Fig. 1. His sense of humor is also evident in his craft. Again, it's the “essence” of Mike Dunne—bigger than life.

FIG 1.

Example of woodworking by Dr. Mike Dunne.