Rate My Professor Joseph DeRisi

Joseph DeRisi is a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco. He earned a B.A. in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1992 and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Stanford University in 1999. DeRisi has served as chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at UCSF and as director of the Sandler Program for Breakthrough Biomedical Research. He is also co-president of the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub. His research focuses on genomic approaches to yeast molecular biology, human infectious diseases, virology, parasitology, and metagenomics for pathogen discovery. DeRisi developed the ViroChip microarray technology, which contributed to the identification of the SARS-CoV-1 virus, and has applied metagenomic sequencing to diagnose infectious and autoimmune conditions. He previously served as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator from 2005 to 2016. Among his honors are a MacArthur Fellowship in 2004, election to the National Academy of Sciences in 2016, the Heinz Award for Technology, the Economy and Employment in 2008, and the John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science from the National Academy of Sciences in 2014. DeRisi has authored or co-authored numerous publications on topics including gene expression analysis, malaria parasite genomics, and viral pathogen detection. He led the rapid establishment of a CLIA-certified COVID-19 testing facility at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub early in the pandemic.

DeRisi maintains an active laboratory at UCSF conducting research on autoimmune syndromes, microbial dynamics, and diagnostic technologies. His work has advanced understanding of pathogen discovery and host responses in infectious diseases.