Larry Robert Peters, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences
Contact Information
Email:Biosketch
Rob Peters, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine (WMed). He serves as Course Director for the Immunology and Infectious Disease course for first-year medical students, the Principles of Immunology course in the Master of Biomedical Sciences (MBS) program, and the Principles of Medicine 3 course. He also serves as Thread Director for Immunology across WMed’s pre-clerkship curriculum.
Dr. Peters earned his BS from Central Michigan University and his PhD in Immunology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Prior to joining WMed, he was a tenured faculty member at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he taught biology and mentored undergraduate researchers for more than a decade.
At WMed, Dr. Peters teaches immunology and microbiology to medical and graduate students. His scholarship focuses on student engagement, gamification, and game-based learning in medical education. He also conducts pilot studies investigating the regulation of B-cell antibody class switch recombination and actively involves students in both laboratory and medical education research.
In addition, Dr. Peters contributes to WMed’s Well-Being in Medicine Distinction Program and is co-founder of Science on Tap Kalamazoo, a community speaker series that connects scientists with the public through accessible discussions of science and medicine.
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- PhD 2011, University of Michigan
- BS 2005, Central Michigan University
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- molecular immunology
- Well-being in medicine
- Student Engagement
- Gamification of learning
- Active learning in medical education
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Raghavan M., Wijeyesakere S.J., Peters L.R., Del Cid N. Calreticulin in the immune system: Ins and outs Trends in Immunology. 2013;34(1):13-21.
Jeffery E., Peters L.R., Raghavan M. The polypeptide binding conformation of calreticulin facilitates its cell-surface expression under conditions of endoplasmic reticulum stress Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2011;286(4):2402-2415.
Peters L., Raghavan M. Endoplasmic reticulum calcium depletion impacts chaperone secretion, innate immunity, and phagocytic uptake of cells Journal of Immunology. 2011;187(2):919-931.
Del Cid N., Jeffery E., Rizvi S.M., Stamper E., Peters L.R., Brown W.C., Provoda C., Raghavan M. Modes of calreticulin recruitment to the major histocompatibility complex class I assembly pathway Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2010;285(7):4520-4535.
Raghavan M., Del Cid N., Rizvi S.M., Peters L.R. MHC class I assembly: out and about Trends in Immunology. 2008;29(9):436-443.
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- Gamifying Cytokine Biology: Preliminary Learning and Engagement outcomes from CytoKind of a Big Deal. Chidambaram Nachiappan, BS, Tyler Bland, PhD, Mark F. Santos, PhD, Karen Duus, PhD, Rajasekaran Koteeswaran, MD, Robert Peters, PhD, Amy Stone, PhD, International Association of Medical Science Educators Annual Meeting , Augusta, GA, 06/2026
- Implementing a Team-Based Leaderboard Enhances Pre-Clerkship Curricular Engagement. Peters LR, Grellinger K, Peiffer A, International Association of Medical School Educators (IAMSE) Annual Conference, Augusta, GA, 06/2026
- Medical Student Wellness: Practices, Perceptions, and Opportunities for Institutional Support. Tourchian, M., Eisenhardt, M., Burke, L.R., Griffin, L., Solitro, A., Voytenko, V., & Peters, L.R., 44th Annual Kalamazoo Community Medical and Health Sciences Research Day, Kalamazoo, MI, 04/2026
- What Causes Allergies? The Biology Behind Allergy Symptoms. Peters LR, Science on Tap Grand Rapids, hosted by GVSU, Grand Rapids, MI, 05/2025
- Catalytic Conversations- Increasing Dialogue Between High School Science Teachers and Higher Ed Science Faculty . Panel Discussion, Michigan Science Teachers Association 2023 Annual Meeting, Lansing, MI, 03/2023
- Establishing a germ-free model of Heligmosomoides polygyrus infection. Peters, LR, Research Seminar at Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI, 12/2022