Rate My Professor Bernard Arulanandam

Bernard Arulanandam, B.S., M.A., Ph.D., M.B.A., served as the Jane and Roland Blumberg Professor of Biology in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), joining the faculty in 2001. He earned his Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the Medical College of Ohio, completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Albany Medical College, and obtained an Executive M.B.A. from UTSA. Throughout his tenure at UTSA, Dr. Arulanandam held several leadership positions, including Associate Dean of Research for Scientific Innovation in the College of Sciences from 2009 to 2012, Director of the South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases from 2012 to 2016, Assistant Vice President for Research from 2012 to 2016, Interim Vice President for Research from 2016 to 2019, and Vice President for Research, Economic Development, and Knowledge Enterprise from 2019 until 2022. In these roles, he spearheaded strategic expansions of the research enterprise, forging partnerships with federal agencies such as the Department of Defense and Department of Energy, establishing the National Security Collaboration Center and the Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute, boosting research expenditures, doctoral student graduations, and contributing to UTSA's attainment of Carnegie R1 research institution status.

Dr. Arulanandam's research specializes in immunology and microbial pathogenesis, focusing on host-microbial interactions and the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying immune responses to infectious diseases. His laboratory investigations have yielded significant insights into vaccine development for Chlamydia trachomatis, the leading cause of sexually transmitted bacterial infections; potential live attenuated vaccines against multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii; and advanced animal models for Francisella tularensis vaccines. Supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security, his work has produced numerous highly cited publications, including “MglA regulates transcription of virulence factors necessary for Francisella tularensis intraamoebae and intramacrophage survival” (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2004) and “The Francisella tularensis pathogenicity island encodes a secretion system that is required for phagosome escape and virulence” (Molecular Microbiology, 2009). He has mentored numerous students and postdoctoral fellows to successful independent careers in academia, government, and industry. His contributions earned him election as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2015), the Fulbright International Education Administrator Award (2016), Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology (2017), Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (2019), and Foreign Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy (2025).