Blossom Damania, PhD, studies how viral cancers develop, and also directs the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center Global Oncology Program.
Blossom Damania, PhD, has been named the Cary C. Boshamer Distinguished Professor of Microbiology & Immunology. Damania, who is an assistant dean for research at the UNC School of Medicine, is widely acknowledged as one of the top virology investigators in the world today.
Damania studies Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesviruses and other related herpesviruses. Her achievements include nearly 100 peer-reviewed articles, many in the top journals including Science, PNAS, Genes and Development, and Cancer Research. She has served as senior editor for PLoS Pathogens and Frontiers in Microbial Immunity.
Damania, a UNC Lineberger member, is a frequent keynote speaker both within the United States and at international meetings.
In the last fifteen years, her work has been recognized with more than a dozen honors, including the American Association for Cancer Research Gertrude Elion Research Scholar (2004), the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Scholar (2005-2010), the American Heart Association Established Investigator Award (2006-2011), the Burroughs Wellcome Investigator in Infectious Disease Award (2006-2011), the Jefferson Pilot Award (2005), Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, Kavli Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, and UNC’s Hettleman Prize (2008).
The Boshamer endowed professorships were established in 1969 by Cary Carlisle Boshamer, a member of the class of 1917. Boshamer was a textile industrialist and a generous donor to UNC, and his gifts included the Diamond Heels baseball stadium that bears his name. He also served as a trustee of the UNC system from 1969 to 1972 and as a Carolina trustee in 1973