Craig E. Cameron

Craig E. Cameron is the holder of the Eberly Family Chair in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at The Pennsylvania State University. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Howard University in 1987. Following doctoral studies in biochemistry at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and post-doctoral studies in the chemistry department at Penn State, Cameron joined the faculty of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State in 1997. He was tenured, promoted to the rank of associate professor and appointed Louis Martarano Associate Professor in 2002. In 2005, he was promoted to the rank of professor and named the Paul Berg Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. From 2011-2012, Cameron served a two-year term as Associate Head for Research and Graduate Education. In 2013, he was named holder of the Eberly Family Chair in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Cameron’s research focuses on RNA polymerases and RNA-binding proteins required for viral replication or mitochondrial function. The goal of this work is development of novel strategies to treat and/or prevent viral infections and mitochondrial dysfunction. He has trained nearly 100 undergraduate research students, more than a dozen graduate students and the same number of post-doctoral students. Together with his students, mentors and collaborators, Cameron has published on the order of 150 papers in highly regarded journals. During his career, Dr. Cameron has received several honors, including the Howard Temin Award from the National Cancer Institute, an Established Investigator Award from the American Heart Association, a Distinguished Service Award from the Eberly College of Science Alumni Association and the Genesis Scholar Award from HBCU Digest, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. He was a member of the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases and served on the executive councils of the American Society for Microbiology, American Society for Virology, American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ex officio), and as chair of the Minority Affairs Committee of ASBMB and a member of the Public Affairs Committee of ASBMB. Cameron currently serves on the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, Molecular Genetics B Study Section and on the editorial boards for Journal of Biological Chemistry, Journal of Virology, Viruses and now JoVE. A primary goal of the Cameron laboratory has been development of strategies to treat or to prevent infections by RNA viruses and diseases linked to mitochondrial dysfunction. His expertise in virology, biochemistry and mechanistic enzymology brings a unique combination of intellectual and technical resources to his research. Cameron’s work is highly collaborative and includes teams from academia (local, national and international), government and industry.