Dr. Joe Deak grew up in Youngstown where he attended Chaney High School. He later earned a B.A. from Hiram College where he worked at the James H. Barrow Field Station and focused on wildlife biology. He worked for 12 years as a dialysis technician during which time he pursued a Ph.D. in Regulatory Biology from Cleveland State University.
Following his doctoral work, he performed a post-doctoral fellowship at Case Western Reserve University in the field of signal transduction/cancer biology. Dr. Deak has multiple publications focusing on ciliate genetics, as well as the structure and function of MEKK, a cell stress response enzyme.
Dr. Deak has been the director of the Lakeland Biotechnology Science program since its inception in 1997. He teaches 7 out of the ten biotechnology science program courses and oversees the vibrant internship program.
Outside of the classroom, he enjoys sports and being outdoors gardening or fishing. His family have been Cleveland Browns season ticket holders since 1965. Dr. Deak and his wife of 35 years are the parents of four adult children.