Darrin Akins PhD

Darrin Akins is in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology at the Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center (OUHSC). He is a member of the American Indian Cherokee Nation and has served as Principal Investigator on two NIH/NIAID grants (one R01 and one R21). He has a strong record of national funding since joining the OUHSC faculty in 1998. Akins was a full member of the American Heart Association study section (Immunology and Microbiology section) for four years and was also a full member of the Microbiology and Infectious Disease Research Committee (MID) study section at NIAID for five years. Akins also has served ad hoc on several other study sections, including the NIH/NIAID underrepresented minority predoctoral fellowship study section. He also is a member of the Infection & Immunity editorial board. Akins has extensive administrative experience and was the Graduate College Assistant Dean at OUHSC from 2006 to 2011, where he was in charge of directing all summer undergraduate research programs on the OUHSC campus, including the INBRE summer student program.