P. Scott Hefty Email & Phone Number

I am an academic scientist with a career research emphasis on better understanding how bacteria cause disease. Since establishing my independent research program at KU in 2006, my primary research focus has been on understanding how Chlamydia causes disease and developing strategies to prevent or treat these infections. My research program has incorporated multiple molecular approaches including comparative genomics, structural biology, chemical biology, innovative genetic tools, and vertebrate infection models.I began my college career at the Oklahoma City Community College while working full-time at Target, which provided partial tuition reimbursement. I earned my undergraduate degree in 1994 from the University of Oklahoma while working for the Oklahoma Blood Institute, which also provided partial tuition reimbursement. I worked at a small biotechnology company, UroCor, before attending graduate school. In 2001, I earned my Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. My graduate research was supported by an NIH training grant and under the mentorship of Dr. Darrin Akins. I investigated the etiological agent for Lyme Disease, Borrelia burgdorferi. My post-doctoral studies was performed at UC-San Francisco and UC-Berkeley under the mentorship of Dr. Richard Stephens. I earned an NIH NRSA fellowship and investigated molecular mechanisms critical for Chlamydia intracellular growth. I started my faculty position in the Department of Molecular Biosciences at the University of Kansas in 2006.I am Professor and Chairperson for the Department of Molecular Biosciences and Director of the Center for Chemical Biology of Infectious Disease. I have been awarded over $25 million in NIH funds while serving as principal investigator on 13 different grants. These approaches and efforts have been enriched by my experiences as a first-generation college attendee and graduate.