Steven L. Kunkel

Steven Kunkel studies the molecular mechanisms of lung inflammation through cytokine and chemokine biology, working on how these proteins participate in the initiation, maintenance, and resolution of acute and chronic lung inflammation. His research group has provided evidence for specific cytokine phenotypes that dictate the progression of particular chronic diseases.

He received his Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Kansas, held a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Connecticut Health Center, and joined the University of Michigan Medical School faculty in 1980. He served as senior associate dean for research from 2007, became executive vice dean for research and chief scientific officer in 2019, and has been vice dean for research since February 2026. His other roles at Michigan include interim associate vice president for research, associate dean for interdisciplinary studies and interim dean of the Rackham Graduate School, interim vice provost for academic affairs, and co-director of departmental research in Pathology.

He is an author on more than 600 peer-reviewed manuscripts, contributed more than 60 book chapters, and edited four books. He has maintained continuous funding from multiple National Institutes of Health grants, including a program project on lung inflammation and an NIH MERIT Award, has served on NIH peer review study sections, and has served as co-chair of the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He is one of the founders of Opsidio, a biotech company developing biologics to treat chronic inflammation.