QU Med School Faculty Continues to Expand

Norbert K. Herzog of Guilford has been appointed to the founding faculty of the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University. 

In his new position, Herzog will teach in and coordinate the foundations of science courses for first-year students at the medical school, which is scheduled to open in the Fall of 2013, pending preliminary accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. Herzog also serves on the medical school’s Faculty Council and Admissions Committee.

“I am very pleased that Norbert has joined the School of Medicine,” said Dr. Bruce Koeppen, founding dean of the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine. “He has had a distinguished scientific career, and is an exceptional educator."

While at the University of Texas, Herzog was a member of the Academy of Master teachers, and was recognized as a University Distinguished Teaching Professor, Koeppen said.

The Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, which will train primary care physicians, is aiming to become a national model of interprofessional health professions education and improve the way health care is delivered. Medical students at Quinnipiac will be part of a learning environment where they will interact with students from Quinnipiac’s School of Health Sciences and School of Nursing to learn to become effective members of a primary health care team. 

“Quinnipiac is in the unique position to create an institutional environment that will be viewed at a regional and national level as a primary care educational magnet for a broad spectrum of health professions,” Koeppen said. 

By 2017, the medical school plans to have 500 students. The medical school already has named St. Vincent’s Medical Center of Bridgeport as its primary clinical partner. It also has affiliations with MidState Medical Center in Meriden andMiddlesex Hospital in Middletown.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity at this stage of my career to be able to contribute to the creation of a new medical school and the legacy that will leave,” Herzog said.

Herzog is a professor emeritus at the University of Texas Medical Branch, where he has taught in the Departments of Pathology and Microbiology and Immunology. At the University of Texas, he has served as a scientist in the Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Center for Tropical Diseases; associate dean for recruitment in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences; and The Leon Bromberg Distinguished Professor for Excellence in Teaching and Paul Brindley Distinguished Scholar.

His research interests include biodefense and how hemorrhagic fever viruses alter the cells they infect and how that contributes to such diseases as Lassa fever, an acute viral illness that occurs in West Africa.

In addition, Herzog is the co-host of “Medical Discovery News,” a radio program that presents the latest biomedical research discoveries and how they affect human health. The weekly show airs on more than 100 stations across the country, including WQUN-AM of Hamden. Herzog and his co-host also write a syndicated newspaper column.

Herzog holds a doctorate in microbiology from the University of Texas at Austin; a master’s degree in biology from California State University Northridge; and a bachelor’s degree in bacteriology from the University of California at Los Angeles.