 From 1985 to 2006, Unanue was the Chairman of Pathology and Immunology and Mallinckrodt Professor at Washington University School of Medicine.He was preceded in that position by Dr. Paul Eston Lacy, and succeeded by Dr. Herbert "Skip" Virgin.Unanue's current research focuses on the molecular mechanisms of antigen processing, the immunological basis of autoimmune diabetes, and immune responses to intracellular bacteria.