Larry L. Swift, Ph.D.
Lipoprotein assembly, lipid droplet formation, adipocyte biology
Dr. Larry Swift is Professor Emeritus of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology. He earned the B.S. degree in chemistry from Indiana Central College and the Ph.D. degree in physical chemistry from Vanderbilt University. In 1971 he joined the faculty in the Department of Pathology as a Research Associate and Instructor and moved through the faculty ranks becoming a Professor in 1992. His research, funded by the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association and the Veterans Administration Merit Review, was focused on various aspects of lipid and lipoprotein metabolism. He helped define the steps in plasma lipoprotein assembly and how this process was altered by dietary fat and cholesterol. He made the discovery that a lipid transfer protein essential for lipoprotein assembly was also present in adipocytes, and the latter part of his career was focused on the role of this protein in lipid accumulation by fat cells.
Dr. Swift authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles. In 1983 he was named an Established Investigator of the American Heart Association. He served on study sections for the National Institutes of Health, the Veterans Administration Merit Review, and the Tennessee and Southeast Affiliates of the American Heart Association.
His service to the University and the Medical Center took many forms. Within the Department of Pathology, he served as Director of Graduate Studies, Director of Investigative Pathology, and Vice Chair for Faculty Affairs. Within the Medical Center he was a member of the task force that developed the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences, and he served on numerous other committees including the Medical School Admissions Committee and the Medical Center Faculty Appointments and Promotions Committee.
Dr. Swift was actively involved with the American Heart Association serving on several committees and on the Board of Directors at the state, regional, and national levels. He was President of the Tennessee Heart Association and the Southeast Affiliate of the American Heart Association Boards.
