Professor Emeritus
Microbiology and Molecular Cell Biology
Eastern Virginia Medical School

Dr. Wright joined EVMS in 1973 and became Chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Cell Biology in 1986; he is a co-founder of the Virginia Prostate Center. He received the Dean's Outstanding Faculty Award in 1990. Dr. Wright established the Immunology Program, which provides cancer testing and other clinical testing services to the Hampton Roads area medical community, and he was instrumental in establishing a state-of-the-art flow cytometry facility and a molecular biology laboratory. All three of these laboratories have been essential resources for the study of prostate and other cancers.

Originally from Ludington, Michigan, Dr. Wright earned his undergraduate degree at Albion College and a Ph.D. in immunology at Michigan State University in 1966. He joined EVMS after six years as a faculty member at George Washington University. Dr. Wright has published more than 125 articles, and has received numerous awards for his research, including one from the National Cancer Institute.

Dr. Wright's research interests are to discover cancer-associated biomarkers that can be used to develop tests for the early detection/diagnosis of cancer. During his 30-year scientific career, he has been instrumental in identifying several potential protein markers for prostate and other urological cancers. His laboratory was involved in the early testing and assessment of the first prostate specific antigen (PSA) test developed by Hybritech, Inc.

Dr. Wright's current research is involved in developing diagnostic tests for prostate cancer using innovative proteomic technologies, and also, in collaboration with Drs. Christine Laronga and Antonia Vlahou, is applying the same technologies to search for diagnostic markers for early detection of breast, ovarian and bladder cancers.