Jay Rappaport to lead Tulane National Primate Research Center

Neuroscientist and HIV/AIDS researcher Jay Rappaport, PhD, will join Tulane University as the new director and chief academic officer of the Tulane National Primate Research Center.

Rappaport, who is currently a professor and associate chair for education in the Neuroscience Department of the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, begins June 1.

“As a leader in infectious and chronic disease research, Tulane National Primate Research Center is critically important to biomedical research at Tulane,” said Lee Hamm, MD, Tulane University School of Medicine dean and senior vice president. “Dr. Rappaport is an outstanding scientist who will lead the Center to even greater successes.”

For almost two decades, Rappaport’s research at Temple has focused primarily on HIV infection, HIV/AIDS-related disorders of the nervous system and the development of novel therapies for the treatment of AIDS. Rappaport’s expertise matches a key strength of the Tulane National Primate Center (TNPRC) where almost 60 percent of funded grants focus on HIV/AIDS research.

Rappaport has held prior positions at Medical College of Pennsylvania-Hahnemann University (currently Drexel University College of Medicine), Mount Sinai Medical Center, University of California San Diego, as well as at the National Institutes of Health.  He received his PhD from the Department of Microbiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

“I look forward to working with Tulane and the TNPRC senior leadership team, faculty and staff. Together, we will meet challenges and reach new heights, continuing the outstanding legacy of the institution and its leadership,” Rappaport said. “I see enormous opportunities for pivotal research contributions in the years ahead.”

Rappaport succeeds previous TNPRC Director Andrew Lackner, who passed away after an illness in April 2017.  

Located in Covington, Louisiana, TNPRC is part of a national network of seven federally funded National Primate Research Centers dedicated to fighting diseases from Alzheimer’s to Zika and improving human health and lives worldwide. In partnership with the National Institutes of Health, other government organizations, private foundations and industry, the centers conduct studies that make breakthrough discoveries of preventions, treatments and cures possible.