Dr. Irvin is the Executive Director of the Foundation for Burkitt Lymphoma Research (FFBLR), and facilitates interactions between the FFBLR, the National Cancer Institute, and the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health in regards to investigator recruitment and conduct of the ongoing molecular characterization study, the Burkitt Lymphoma Genome Sequencing Project.  

Dr. Irvin received his BS degree in biology from Juniata College, and his MD and PhD degrees from Hahnemann Medical College and Graduate School (now part of Drexel University).  His post-graduate training was at Thomas Jefferson University in Neurosurgery, where he also served on the faculty and conducted basic research on spinal cord injury.  He has presented at scientific meetings and the FDA, and published in referred scientific journals and textbooks.

Dr. Irvin spent 35 years of his professional career as a senior pharmaceutical executive.  As a Vice President of Merck Research Laboratories and Senior Vice President of Johnson & Johnson Merck, his scope of management responsibilities included global cardiovascular Rx and Rx-to-OTC switch development, the Cholesterol Development Committee, Merck Manuals, Merck Index, Clinical Information Services, and Education and Training.  He was a co-sponsor of the Merck Polytechnic Institute, and member of the management board of Johnson & Johnson Merck.