Assistant Professor
Division of Infectious Diseases
Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology
Dr. Parr is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine Department of Medicine. He received his B.S. in chemistry from Stanford University, followed by his M.D. at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and M.P.H. at the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Parr completed residency in internal medicine at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he was selected for the Doris and Howard Hiatt Residency in Internal Medicine and Global Health Equity. Through this program, he performed clinical work and research at sites around the globe, with a focus on drug-resistant tuberculosis in Peru with Dr. Mercedes Becerra and colleagues at Partners In Health. Dr. Parr joined the Brigham and Women’s Division of Global Health Equity after residency and continued this work as a clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School. He subsequently moved to UNC to complete a fellowship in infectious diseases and later joined the faculty.
Dr. Parr’s research focuses on the infectious diseases of poverty, with translational projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and other sites. His research concentrates on the molecular epidemiology of malaria and the evolution of “diagnostic-resistant” strains of Plasmodium falciparum, in particular. As a founding member of a World Health Organization laboratory network, he collaborates with malaria control programs and ministries of health to support surveillance of these parasites across Africa. He has recently expanded his research program to include studies of other diseases that disproportionately impact marginalized populations worldwide, including viral hepatitis and syphilis, and serves as the director of the genomics core for a syphilis vaccine development project that spans sites in Malawi, Columbia, China, North Carolina, and the Czech Republic. Dr. Parr was elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigation in 2024.
He attends on the infectious disease inpatient services at UNC Medical Center and, in response to the pandemic, co-directed the UNC division of infectious diseases’ inpatient COVID-19 services. He also serves as Associate Editor for global health for Healthcare: The Journal of Delivery Science and Innovation. Dr. Parr and his work have been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, and other media outlets.
When not at work, Dr. Parr enjoys spending time with his wife and three kids, roasting coffee, eating baked goods, and dreaming about fly fishing.
