Dr. Joy Sturtevant Named Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education
Dr. Joy Sturtevant, Professor of Microbiology, Genetics and Immunology, has been named an Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education, effective July 1, 2026.
Dr. Sturtevant joined the LSU School of Medicine as an assistant professor in 2002, becoming a professor with tenure in 2022 with a joint appointment in the School of Graduate Studies. She also held a joint appointment at the School of Dentistry for 15 years.
“I have really enjoyed working with everyone in the UME Office, helping to keep our medical school curriculum running smoothly while continuing to strengthen and improve it. I am honored with the new role of Assistant Dean and excited to take on the new tasks,” Dr. Sturtevant said. “My mom always said she had 'two Joys and two Deans' (I have a twin brother named Dean). I guess now she’s finally right!”
Dr. Sturtevant has studied opportunistic fungal pathogens for more than 30 years. Prior to joining the LSU School of Medicine, she spent several years on the faculty at Georgetown. Her laboratories at Georgetown and LSU were continuously funded by the NIH until Hurricane Katrina. In its aftermath, she focused on supporting the recovery of the academic community, including maintaining continuity of student education, restructuring courses under constrained conditions, and rebuilding laboratory operations. Her professional focus evolved from primarily research to leadership in academic medicine, with an emphasis on curriculum development, medical education, and mentorship. She has co-directed multiple medical school courses, chaired several key curriculum committees, and led numerous curriculum renewal and accreditation initiatives.
Since becoming the co-director of the basic science curriculum in 2017, she has been nominated for or received numerous teaching awards, including receiving the Aesculapian Society Excellence in Teaching Award four times and the prestigious LSUHSC Copping Award for Basic Sciences in 2021.
Dr. Sturtevant completed her undergraduate education at Colorado State University where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology. She went on to receive a PhD in Immunology from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC and was a post-doctorate fellow at the Institute Pasteur in Paris, France, Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, DC, University Marine Biological Station in Millport, Scotland, and Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden.