Dr. Joy Sturtevant has 30 years of experience in the academic and scientific fields. She completed her Ph.D. studies at Duke University from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Her professional life began with postdoctoral fellowships in Scotland, Sweden, and the Pasteur Institute, France and advancement at Georgetown University. She has been a faculty member in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Parasitology at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans for 18 years. Her research has focused on the initial interaction between host and pathogen including parasites, fungi and bacteria.
 
Sturtevant's scientific background has been a multidisciplinary approach, focusing on the basic microbiological and immunological medical sciences but incorporating biochemistry, cell biology, genetics and molecular biology. She has worked with and teaches about fungi, bacteria and parasites. Therefore, her interest in ASM is broad-based and not discipline focused.
 
Recently Sturtevant's work life made a significant switch to a focus on education. For the past 3 years, she is also Co-Director of the Basic Science Curriculum in the Office of Medical Education. She believes that education should continue to be a significant focus of ASM.