Assoc. Scientist, Virology & Immunology
Texas Biomedical Research InstituteAIDS, HIV
Dr. Gauduin has more than 25 years of experience in HIV/AIDS research and medical microbiology. She has been working extensively on HIV and the development of novel vaccine strategies using the non-human primate model for AIDS. In her work, she uses epithelial stem cells and weakened recombinant papillomavirus as vaccine- vectors to protect against multiple low-dose mucosal challenges. Dr. Gauduin is also developing a neonatal model for tuberculosis to study HIV/TB co-infection in pediatric AIDS. Her specific research interests are: Early events of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) transmission in a macaque model Host immune responses to infectious diseases Early virus-specific T cell responses in neonates Tuberculosis/SIV coinfection in pediatric AIDS
Antibodies, B Cells, Health, HIV, Immune System, Immunology, Infectious Disease, Influenza, Medicine, Pandemic, T Cells, Viruses
Shane Crotty, Ph.D., and his team study immunity against infectious diseases. They investigate how the immune system remembers infections and vaccines. By remembering infections and vaccines, the body is protected from becoming infected in the future. Vaccines are one of the most cost-effective medical treatments in modern civilization and are responsible for saving millions of lives. Yet, good vaccines are very difficult to design, and very few new vaccines have been made in the past 10 years. A better understanding of immune memory will facilitate the ability to make new vaccines. Dr. Tony Fauci, NIH, referred to some of the Crotty lab work as “exceedingly important to the field of immunogen design.”
Dr. Crotty is a member of the LJI Coronavirus Task Force. The Crotty Lab, in close collaboration with the lab of LJI Professor Alessandro Sette, Dr. Biol. Sci., was the first to publish a detailed analysis of the immune system’s response to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 (). The made a number of important findings. Most importantly, it showed that the immune system activates all three major branches of “adaptive immunity” (which learns to recognize specific viruses) to try to fight the virus: CD4 “helper” T cells , CD8 “killer” T cells, and antibodies. The LJI team found good immune responses to multiple different parts of SARS-CoV-2 (imagine the virus is made out of legos, and the immune system can recognize different individual legos), including the Spike protein, which is the main target of almost all COVID-19 vaccine efforts.
Dr. Crotty has a major focus studying human immune responses to vaccines. His lab is hard at work on candidate HIV vaccines with the CHAVID consortium. His lab is also hard at work on vaccine strategies for influenza, strep throat, and COVID-19. The Crotty lab studies new vaccine ideas and strategies that may be applicable to many diseases, based on a fundamental understanding of the underlying immune responses, and how the cells of the immune system interact.
Dr. Crotty regularly does media outreach on vaccines and immunity to infectious diseases. Dr. Crotty is also the author of Ahead of the Curve, a biography of Nobel laureate scientist David Baltimore, published in 2001, and reviewed in The Wall Street Journal and other publications. He earned his B.S. in Biology and Writing from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1996, and his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology/Virology from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in 2001.
Adolescent Medicine Expert
Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of ChicagoAdolescent Medicine, HIV, LGBT, Sexuality, transgender children
Robert Garofalo, MD, MPH, is the Division Head of Adolescent Medicine at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and a Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He is a Co-Director of Lurie Children’s Gender and Sex Development Program, the first comprehensive program for gender nonconforming children and adolescents in the Midwest. Dr. Garofalo also directs Lurie Children’s Adolescent/Young Adult HIV Program and the Center for Gender, Sexuality and HIV Prevention, which conducts research on topics in adolescent sexual health, gender, sexuality, HIV prevention and health disparities affecting adolescent and young adult populations at risk of acquiring HIV. He is a national expert on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) health issues in youth, as well as adolescent sexuality and HIV clinical care and prevention. Dr. Garofalo is the former President of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association. In 2010, he served as a committee member for the National Academy of Sciences/Institute of Medicine Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Health Issues and Research Gaps and Opportunities.
Alcohol, HIV, Inflamation, metabolic alterations , Muscle, TBI
Patricia E. Molina, MD, PhD, is the Richard Ashman Professor and Head of Physiology, and Director of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Center at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans’ School of Medicine. Dr. Molina's training as a physician prior to completing training in physiology provides her with a unique systems approach to study the biomedical consequences of chronic heavy alcohol use, with emphasis on the pathophysiological mechanisms that aggravate HIV disease progression. Her research focuses on the interaction of chronic alcohol consumption on progression of HIV disease in preclinical models and in translational studies. Her research involves integrating in vivo with ex vivo approaches to understand the contribution of organ systems to disease pathogenesis. Another area of research interest and ongoing investigations is the interaction of alcohol with outcomes from traumatic brain injury. Her work examines the mechanisms that lead to greater alcohol drinking during the post-injury phase, and the potential role of the endocannabinoid system in modulating those responses. Dr. Molina is interested in translating research findings to the community at large, and in educating the lay public on the consequences of excessive alcohol consumption. This is particularly relevant to young students and parents as they make decisions on alcohol drinking throughout their life.
Addiction, AIDS, Gun Violence, Health Policy, HIV, Opioid Crisis, Opioids, Public Health, Public Health Education, Substance Abuse, Tobacco
Cheryl Healton, DrPH, is dean of the College of Global Public Health and professor of public health policy and management at New York University. A public health leader and scholar, Healton has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers and special reports on topics including HIV/AIDS, the opioid crisis, public health education, health policy, substance abuse, and tobacco. Healton was the founding president and CEO of Legacy (now Truth Initiative), a national foundation dedicated to tobacco control created by the tobacco industry’s Master Settlement Agreement. Healton worked to further the foundation’s mission: to build a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. During her time with Legacy, Healton guided the national youth tobacco prevention counter-marketing campaign, truth®, which has been credited with reducing youth smoking prevalence to near record lows. Healton is currently focused on what lessons can be learned from the tobacco industry’s Master Settlement Agreement and applied to other public health issues, including opioids, gun violence, obesity, and global warming. https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMp1802633
HIV, Infectious Diseases, Internal Medicine, Medicine, Pediatric, Preventive Medicine
Dr. Pavia is a pediatric infectious disease expert who can provide expert commentary on vaccines, infectious disease and related trending topics. He has become a trusted source for top national media. He received his bachelor's degree and medical degree at Brown University. He trained in internal medicine and pediatrics at Dartmouth and the University of Utah. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Pavia trained in Public Health Epidemiology as an Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officer and a Preventive Medicine Resident. Additionally, Dr. Pavia completed a fellowship in pediatric and adult infectious diseases at the University of Utah. He joined the faculty at the University of Utah in 1991. In 2003 Dr. Pavia became the George and Esther Gross Presidential Professor and Chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, where he mentors a dynamic and productive team of faculty and fellows. He also serves as Director of Hospital Epidemiology at Primary Children's Hospital and Associate Director of Antimicrobial Stewardship. Dr. Pavia is a member of the Society for Pediatric Research. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. Dr. Pavia is a member of the National Academy of Science Engineering and Medicine Forum on Preparedness. He was recently Vice Chair and Chair of the Program Committee for IDWeek and served two terms on the CDC Board of Scientific Counselors. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) and past chair of the Pandemic Influenza Task Force and past Chair of the National and Global Public Policy Committee. Dr. Pavia served as a member of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee and chaired the Vaccine Safety Working Group, was an inaugural member of the National Biodefense Science Board (NBSB) and chaired the Influenza Working Group, and co-chaired the Personal Preparedness Working Group of the NBSB from 2008-2010. Dr. Pavia has served on several Institute of Medicine Committees including “Antivirals for Pandemic Influenza: Guidance on Developing and Distribution and Dispensing System,” and “Prepositioned Medical Countermeasure for the Public,” and is a frequent consultant for CDC. He is an associate Editor of the Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy and is on the editorial board the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society and a reviewer for numerous journals. He has published more than 250 peer-reviewed scientific articles, textbook chapters, reviews and scientific abstracts. His research interests include the epidemiology of influenza and other emerging respiratory infections, pneumonia, vaccine preventable diseases, emerging infections, and HIV/ AIDS, with a particular interest in infections of pregnant women and their children. He has been the principal investigator or co-investigator on grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Pavia received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Brown University. He completed his residency at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and served as Chief Resident. He then served as an officer in the Epidemic Intelligence Service at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and completed a residency in Preventive Medicine. He completed fellowship training in pediatric and adult infectious diseases at the University of Utah. Dr. Pavia is currently the George and Esther Gross Presidential Professor at the University of Utah and is Chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. His academic interests include the epidemiology, diagnosis and management of emerging infectious diseases including influenza, respiratory infections and diarrheal diseases. He is also keenly interested in HIV/AIDS and has been involved in HIV clinical care and research since the 1980s.
AIDS, Bioterrorism, Community Health, HIV, Vaccine
Thomas N. Denny, MSc, M.Phil, is the Chief Operating Officer of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute (DHVI) and the Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology (CHAVI), and a Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine at Duke University Medical Center. He is also an Affiliate Member of the Duke Global Health Institute. He has recently been appointed to the Duke University Fuqua School of Business Health Sector Advisory Council. Previously, he was an Associate Professor of Pathology, Laboratory Medicine and Pediatrics, Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine and Community Health and Assistant Dean for Research in Health Policy at the New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey. He has served on numerous committees for the NIH over the last two decades and currently is the principal investigator of an NIH portfolio in excess of 56 million dollars. Mr. Denny was a 2002-2003 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellow at the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies (IOM). As a fellow, he served on the US Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee with legislation/policy responsibilities in global AIDS, bioterrorism, clinical trials/human subject protection and vaccine related-issues.
Professor in the Divisions of Management, Policy, and Community Health and Epidemiology
University of Texas Health Science Center at HoustonEpidemiology, HIV, Infectious Diseases, Viral Hepatitis
Cathy Troisi is a professor in the Divisions of Management, Policy, and Community Health and Epidemiology at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health and coordinator for the Leadership Studies Concentration. She teaches courses in leadership and public health and is a faculty advisor for the Society for Women and Leadership. She created and manages the undergraduate public health certificate program. Her research interests are in infectious disease epidemiology, and she has research grants in the areas of HIV, viral hepatitis, and improving immunization rates. She holds a BA in Chemistry from the University of Rochester, an MS in Biochemistry from Michigan State University, and a Ph.D. in Epidemiologic Sciences from the University of Michigan. She completed the National Public Health Leadership Training in February 2011. Previously, she served at the Houston Department of Health and Human Services, where she worked on policy development, research collaborations with academic institutions, promotion of public health education for staff, and preparing for health department accreditation. Prior to that, Cathy was assistant director for the Division of Disease Prevention and Control and prior to that, bureau chief for HIV/STD prevention. Prior to joining HDHHS, she was on the faculty of UTHealth and Baylor College of Medicine. Having experience in both academia and practice, her passion, besides infectious diseases, is bridging the gap between these two essential components of public health. Cathy has been involved with APHA since 2004. She is active in the Epidemiology Section and served as programming chair for two years and Epidemiology Section representative to the Governing Council for seven years. She served as chair of the APHA Action Board and co-chair of the Joint Policy Committee. In the past three years, she has had 15 op-eds published in Texas newspapers and given over 100 media interviews on public health issues. Cathy received the APHA Advocacy award in 2015. She is active with the Texas Affiliate as well, having served on the governing council, and receiving the TPHA award for outstanding service in 2010. She is a member of the National Association of County and City Health Officials epidemiology workgroup as well as many local and state public health advisory boards.
Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine
University of Miami Health System, Miller School of MedicineHIV
Dr. Laura Beauchamps is an Infectious Disease Specialist in Miami, Florida. She graduated with honors in 2001. Having more than 19 years of diverse experiences, especially in INFECTIOUS DISEASE, INTERNAL MEDICINE, Dr. Laura Beauchamps affiliated with many hospitals including Jackson Health System, University Of Miami Hospital And Clinics, cooperates with many other doctors and specialists in the medical group the University Of Miami.
Vice President, Scientific Operations, Associate Director for Shared Resources, Ellen and Ronald Caplan Cancer Center
Wistar InstituteCancer, HIV, Immunology, Virology
Montaner studies the mechanisms of disease in HIV-1 infection and cancer, exploring new strategies to boost the natural function of the immune system in order to combat viral-associated disease or cancer progression. Montaner obtained his D.V.M., Veterinary Medicine from Kansas State University in 1989 and his D.Phil. in Experimental Pathology from University of Oxford, Oxford, U.K., in 1995. He joined The Wistar Institute in 1995 as an assistant professor and was promoted to professor in 2007.
COVID-19, HIV, vector-borne diseases
Dr. Susan E. Hassig has been a faculty member of the Epidemiology Department since 1996, after more than a decade of work in HIV research, surveillance, and intervention programs in the U.S. and around the globe. She has also served in the Peace Corps, where she worked to improve disease diagnosis methods and blood transfusion safety in Thailand.
Medical Director, Infection Prevention and Clinical Epidemiology
UC San Diego HealthAIDS, COVID-19, Epidemiology, Flu, HIV, Infection Control, Infectious Disease, Influenza, SARS-CoV-2, TB, Tuberculosis
, is a professor of clinical medicine in the Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of California, San Diego. She sees patients in the Owen Clinic and the infectious diseases clinic. She also cares for people during hospital stays.
Dr. Torriani is medical director of the UC San Diego Infection Prevention and Clinical Epidemiology and the tuberculosis control units at UC San Diego Health. In collaboration with Atlas Public Health, she has been instrumental in creating an extensive electronic microbiology surveillance and pharmacy utilization program called Guardian that allows for internal data mining, surveillance, unit-specific antibiogram production, and external reporting of contagious infections to San Diego Public Health and to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) of Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI).
Since 2010, Dr. Torriani has served on the Metrics Group for CA HAI Reporting, an independent group of experts discussing best standards and methods for HAI reporting in California.
She is fluent in five languages: Italian, French, German, Spanish and English.
Hepatitis B, HIV, PREP, Sexual Health, Transgender
Dr. Wiberg did his American residency in Sinai hospital 2006-2009 followed by Infectious Disease fellowship at Washington Hospital Center in Washington DC. He worked at Chase Brexton Healthcare in downtown Baltimore 2011-2015 before rejoining Sinai hospital 2015. He specializes in treatment of HIV, Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B, syphilis, male STD, LGBTQ sexual health, PrEP.
HIV, Infectious Diseases, Monkeypox, mpox
Amanda Martinot, D.V.M., M.P.H., Ph.D., DACVP, is assistant professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases and Global Health. She joined Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in 2019 as an assistant adjunct professor.
Martinot is a veterinarian-scientist and board-certified veterinary pathologist (anatomic) who specializes in animal models of infectious diseases of global health importance such as tuberculosis (TB), HIV, and SARS CoV-2. With over 15 years of experience in TB biology, her independent research focuses on preclinical animal models for TB vaccine development and the basic immunology and virulence determinants underlying the TB host-pathogen interaction. As a veterinary pathologist, Martinot has expertise in animal models for infectious disease pathogenesis and drug and vaccine discovery research, with a focus on nonhuman primate infectious disease pathology.
Martinot received her veterinary degree from the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine in 2003. She went on to study the epidemiology of infectious diseases and global health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she completed her M.P.H. in 2006. She specialized in comparative pathology and infectious diseases by completing her pathology residency training at Harvard Medical School and New England Primate Research Center, and her Ph.D. at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, where she studied the microbiology and immunopathology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. She studied vaccine immunology during her postdoctoral studies at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and has contributed to vaccine development efforts for TB, Zika virus, and most recently SARS-CoV-2.