Education
University of Louisville – Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology
Medical University of South Carolina – Pharm.D.
Michigan State University – B.S. in Medical Technology
Fields of Interest
Infectious Disease, Oral Microbiology, Oncology, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Biography
Dr. John Perpich received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the Medical University of South Carolina in 2007. He completed a PGY1 residency at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah and a PGY2 oncology residency at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. He served as an Oncology Specialist for three years before deciding to further his research training by completing a Ph.D. at the University of Louisville. His dissertation research focused on the role of protein virulence factors in Legionella pneumophila. He went on to postdoctoral studies of the oral microbiome and its role in periodontitis. He utilized high-throughput screening technologies, including Tn-seq, to identify novel genes important in polymicrobial synergy and dysbiosis and studied how interactions among members of the oral microbiome contribute to periodontal diseases. Current research interests include exploring the role of emerging periodontal pathogens in disease development and extending his studies of bacterial protein phosphorylation signaling.
Throughout his career, Dr. Perpich has maintained an avid interest in teaching. He is published in the scholarship of teaching and learning and co-developed active learning classes in the Biology department at the University of Louisville. He served as a tutor in biochemistry for his fellow pharmacy students and adjunct instructor at Sullivan University and Bellarmine University. He joined the Pharmaceutical Sciences department at the Sullivan University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in 2020.