Dr. Richard MacDermott graduated from Ohio State University School of Medicine, was a Medical Resident at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, a Fellow in Gastroenterology at Boston University and Boston City Hospitals, and a Research Fellow in Immunology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Center. He carried out research in mucosal immunology at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Dr. MacDermott was an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a member of the Gastroenterology Division at Washington University School of Medicine. He was Chief of Gastroenterology at the University of Pennsylvania from 1989-1992 and subsequently Chief of Gastroenterology at Lahey Clinic, as well as Chief of Gastroenterology at Albany Medical College. He was the Thomas Ordway, MD Distinguished Chair in Medicine, Director of the Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Center, and Professor of Medicine at Albany Medical College in Albany, NY until his retirement in 2013.
His research is in the mucosal immune system to match his clinical interest in inflammatory bowel diseases. In 2008, Dr. MacDermott received the Mentor's Research Scholar Award by the AGA in 2007 and the Masters Award by the ACG in 2008. He has contributed significantly to the CCFA and the Journal of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.