Dr. Dreyfus is the Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development at UMKC, a role he has served in since July of 2012. Prior to his current appointment, Dr. Dreyfus served, for 9 years, as Dean and Director of Research of the School of Biological Sciences at UMKC. Dr. Dreyfus is also a tenured Professor of Cell Biology and Biophysics at UMKC and throughout his career, he has focused his research on the structure and function of bacterial toxins and their contributory role in microbial pathogenesis and human disease.

Dr. Dreyfus has received a number of research awards including the UMKC Trustees Award for creative research, the UMKC Faculty Fellows award for research and teaching, and young investigator awards from the NIH and the American Lung Association. He served for a number of years on NIH scientific review panels including the Bacteriology and Mycology Study Section, the Small Business Innovate Research Awards Committee, and a NRSA fellowship review panel. Dr. Dreyfus is still active in teaching Microbial Pathogenesis to students in the Medicine and Pharmacy programs at UMKC and he is an active member of the American Society for Microbiology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

In 1975 Dr. Dreyfus received a Bachelors Degree in Microbiology from Kansas University, a Master of Science in Microbiology from Michigan State University in 1978 and a Ph.D. in Pathogenic Microbiology from Kansas University in 1982. Following Post-doctoral research training in microbial pathogenesis from the Oregon Health Sciences University, Dr. Dreyfus joined the Department of Microbiology at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. In 1991 he accepted a position as an Associate Professor of Cell Biology and Biophysics in the School of Biological Sciences at UMKC. Dr. Dreyfus was promoted to the rank of Professor in 2000.