Tom Kawula
Creighton Endowed Chair in Global Health | 2025 – present
Professor and Department Director, Paul G. Allen School for Global Health
Director of Graduate Education in the College of Veterinary Medicine
Professor Dr. Tom Kawula, infectious disease microbiologist at Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, is the Creighton Endowed Chair in Global Health.
As the director of the Paul G. Allen School for Global Health, Dr. Kawula oversees all research at the school ranging from infectious disease to antimicrobial resistance and rabies control and prevention. He also oversees the school’s international research, including WSU’s Global Health programs based in Kenya and Tanzania.
Dr. Kawula’s personal research interest explores how zoonotic intracellular bacterial pathogens survive and thrive within host cells, specifically how these pathogens manipulate host cells to establish a hospitable environment that supports bacterial growth. Dr. Kawula was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2022, a lifetime honor recognizing the distinguished contributions of scientists, engineers, and innovators.
In addition to covering part of the chairholder’s salary, the Jack and Jan Creighton Endowed Chair in Global Health provides financial support to catalyze new global health initiatives, and recruit and support graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the Allen School.
Read more about Dr. Tom Kawula and the Creighton Endowed Chair