Dimiter “Mitko” Dimitrov, PhD, has been appointed to the rank of Distinguished Professor of Medicine, effective May 1, 2022. The appointment of a faculty member to a Distinguished Professorship at the University of Pittsburgh constitutes the highest honor that the University can accord a member of the professorate. The Distinguished Professor designation recognizes extraordinary, inter-nationally recognized, scholarly attainment in an individual discipline or field. Dr. Dimitrov has made exceptional contributions to the intellectual advancement of the ID Division, the Department of Medicine, the School of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh overall.
Dr. Dimitrov was recruited to join the Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Pittsburgh from the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute’s (NIH/NCI) Center for Cancer Research in 2017. He was appointed to the rank of Professor of Medicine with tenure in 2020. As Director for the Center for Antibody Therapeutics (CAT), he is responsible for the development and oversight of the Center. His work focuses on identifying new monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) as candidate therapeutics using phage and yeast display as well as to develop novel methods for antibody engineering, and generation of antibody-based candidate therapeutics including antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), chimeric antigen receptors (CARs), bispecific and multispecific antibodies, antibody-based fusion proteins, engineered antibody domains (eAds), and full size antibodies as immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1s). Under his supervision, the CAT team has identified hundreds of new mAbs and generated many antibody-based candidate therapeutics. Several of the mAbs in IgG1 and CAR formats are in clinical trials and one has been approved for compassionate use.
Dr. Dimitrov is an extraordinarily creative and gifted scientist who has applied his vast knowledge to the clinically important issues, including potentially effective therapeutics against virus infection and cancer. He is recognized worldwide for his expertise in molecular engineering and antibody therapeutics. Dr. Dimitrov serves as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Antibodies. He has a remarkable record of achievement as a translational scientist, collaborator and mentor.
Please join us in congratulating, Mitko!