2026 USM Board of Regents Faculty Award for Excellence in Mentoring
Michael Summers
Robert E. Meyerhoff Chair for Excellence in Research and Mentoring and Distinguished Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Dr. Michael F. Summers received his A.A. degree in Chemistry from St. Petersburg
Junior College (1978), B.S. in Chemistry from the University of West Florida (1980), and Ph.D. in Bioinorganic Chemistry from Emory University (1984). He conducted postdoctoral training in biomolecular NMR at the NIH (1984-1987) before joining the faculty at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (1987-present). In 1994 he was appointed as an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and in 2016 he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Summers is Editor in Chief of Journal of Molecular Biology.
Research in Dr. Summers’ lab focuses on NMR and biophysical studies of proteins, RNA, and macromolecular interactions associated with HIV-1 genome packaging and virus assembly. Among other achievements, his lab has determined the 3D structures of the HIV-1 matrix, capsid (N-terminal domain), and nucleocapsid proteins and identified the region of the viral RNA that promotes selective genome packaging into assembling virus particles. The lab most recently showed how transcriptional start site heterogeneity modulates the structure and function of HIV-1 RNA transcripts.
Dr. Summers’ laboratory typically includes large numbers of students from diverse backgrounds, and he has led efforts to develop and disseminate “inclusive excellence” programs for retaining students who are underrepresented in the sciences. Dr. Summers has received several awards for science and mentoring, including the Ruth Kirstein Award of the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the Carl Branden Award of the Protein Society, the Emily M. Gray Mentoring Award of the Biophysical Society, and the White House Presidential Award for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring.