Evan Anderson, MD
Emory Vaccine Center
Dr. Anderson's research contributions focus on rotavirus infection of adults, an understudied area that appears to have considerable significance, and on vaccines and vaccine clinical trials.
Angela R. Branche, MD
University of Rochester Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit
Dr. Branche is an assistant professor at the University of Rochester School of Medicine. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology at the University of Pennsylvania and Doctorate in Medicine at American University of the Caribbean. She completed residency in Internal Medicine at NYU Langone Hospital- Brooklyn in Brooklyn, NY and infectious disease fellowship at the University of Rochester. She currently has a clinical inpatient practice comprised of both general infectious diseases and HIV medicine patients and is also a New York State designated HIV/AIDS provider. During her years at the University of Rochester her focus in research involved the use of viral molecular and immunological diagnostic assays to explore the pathogenesis and host response to acute viral respiratory illnesses in adults. She is currently the clinical director of the NIH Center for Excellent in Influenza Research and Surveillance (CEIRS) New York Influenza Center of Excellence (NYICE) and Co-Principle Investigator for the UR Vaccine Treatment and Evaluation Unit (UR VTEU). Her current research activities explore clinical disease, pathogenesis, development of therapeutics and vaccine biology related to infection with viral and bacterial respiratory pathogens. Studies include assessment of asymptomatic carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae and the impact of pneumococcal vaccination, surveillance of epidemic influenza infections and immunologic mechanisms of protection following natural infection versus vaccination, the development of pandemic influenza vaccines, population-based studies of RSV infection and the development of vaccine and anti-viral agents for RSV. She is a member of the Infectious Disease Society of America and the NIH Human Cohorts Steering Committee. Dr. Branche has published several peer-reviewed articles, reviews and book chapters related to respiratory viral pathogens in adults.
Clarence (Buddy) Creech, MD, MPH
Vanderbilt Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit
Buddy Creech, MD, MPH, FPIDS is Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee. He serves as Director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program, Principal Investigator of the NIH-funded Vanderbilt Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit, and Co-Principal Investigator of the CDC-sponsored Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment Network. Dr. Creech’s research interests focus on the development and evaluation of new vaccines and therapeutics, particularly vaccines targeting influenza, pertussis, and S. aureus. His work combines innovative clinical trial design and next-generation immunologic assays to characterize the human response to infection and disease.
Dr. Creech received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, cum laude, from Vanderbilt University prior to graduating with high honors from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis, TN. He completed pediatric training at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, serving as Chief Resident in 2002-3. During fellowship in pediatric infectious diseases at Vanderbilt, he trained with Dr. Kathryn Edwards and received a Master in Public Health degree. He currently serves as a Faculty Senator (Department of Medicine) at Vanderbilt University and is President-Elect of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.
Carlos del Rio, MD
Emory Vaccine Center
Dr. del Rio’s research interests include early diagnosis of HIV, access to care and compliance with antiretrovirals for hard-to-reach populations. He is also interested in combination (biomedical and behavioral) prevention of HIV infection and the translation of research findings into practice and policy. He is a Member of the Board of Directors of the International Antiviral Society-USA (IAS-USA), the HIVMA of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the IDSA. He is a also a member of the DHHS Panel for Antiretroviral Guidelines for Adults and Adolescents and member of the Advisory Committee on HIV and STD Prevention and Treatment of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Health Resources and Services Administration.
Hana M. El Sahly, MD
Baylor College of Medicine Vaccine Research Center
Dr. El Sahly has been an Infectious Diseases physician and clinical researcher for the past 18 years. Her research experience focuses on clinical vaccine development in healthy populations, and also in elderly persons, persons infected with HIV and persons at risk of acquiring HIV. These include vaccines against respiratory pathogens, especially influenza, biodefense agents, and malaria. She is currently the chair of the Food and Drug Administration Vaccine and Related Biological Advisory Committee (VRBPAC).
Ann R. Falsey, MD
University of Rochester Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit
Dr. Falsey is a professor of medicine at the University Of Rochester School Of Medicine. The focus of Dr. Falsey's research has been clinical and translational research in the field of respiratory viral infections in adults. Initially the focus of her research was defining the epidemiology and impact of respiratory syncytial virus in adult populations. More recently, Dr. Falsey has broadened her research to include numerous viral respiratory pathogens including influenza, coronaviruses, parainfluenza viruses and human metapneumovirus. She has conducted numerous adult surveillance and vaccine studies in a variety of settings including ambulatory older adult clinics, nursing homes and senior daycare centers. She has extensive experience in the development and performance of diagnostic and serologic assays for influenza and other respiratory viruses including cell culture, RT-PCR, EIA and neutralization assays. Dr. Falsey has been a standing member of the Clinical Studies and Field Research Study Section and has served as an ad hoc reviewer for numerous NIH study section reviews. She is a member of the steering committee for the Global Influenza Initiative, the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the American Virology Society. Dr. Falsey has published over 200 peer reviewed articles, reviews, book chapters and abstracts.
Robert W. Frenck, Jr., MD
Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units
Dr. Frenck's research interests include therapeutic and vaccine clinical trials with special interest in enteric diseases. After completing a 25-year career in the Navy, Dr. Frenck joined the UCLA Center for Vaccine Research in 2004 and served until 2006 as director of the center and a professor of pediatrics at UCLA School of Medicine. Dr. Frenck has been active in the American Academy of Pediatrics and currently serves on the Red Book Committee. He is an acknowledged authority in infectious diseases and has authored over 60 articles and book chapters on various aspects of this subject.
Daniel Hoft, MD, PhD
Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit at Saint Louis University
Dr. Hoft has conducted immunology, microbiology and vaccinology research for 3 decades. He became interested in infectious diseases while serving in the Peace Corps. He received his MD from the University of Missouri and completed his IM Residency, ID Fellowship, and PhD in Microbiology/Immunology at the University of Iowa. He joined the Saint Louis University (SLU) faculty in 1992 and is currently Director of Infectious Diseases, Allergy and Immunology. Since 2014, Dr. Hoft has been Principal Investigator for the SLU VTEU and developed omic capabilities for the VTEU network. Areas of expertise include the mechanisms of mucosal and systemic immunity protective against the intracellular pathogens Mycobacterium tuberculosis, influenza, and Trypanosoma cruzi. Dr. Hoft’s major VTEU projects include developing a BCG human challenge model, a first-in-human study with chimeric HA influenza antigens, Zika epitope mapping and vaccine trials, a M2SR LAIV vaccine for influenza, and urgent yellow fever and H7 bird flu trials. Dr. Hoft also developed an inpatient unit for human challenge studies under airborne containment and participated in the first VTEU-funded human influenza challenge trial. He has received numerous awards from NIH, DoD, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and is a regular advisor to the WHO.
Lisa Jackson, MD, MPH
Kaiser Washington Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit
Dr. Jackson is an internist and infectious disease epidemiologist who has conducted clinical and epidemiologic studies of vaccine safety and efficacy since 1991. She has written more than 200 peer-reviewed publications and 14 book chapters. She is a past member of the Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee and the National Vaccine Program Office’s National Vaccine Advisory Committee.
Karen Kotloff, MD
University of Maryland School of Medicine Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health
Dr. Kotloff's research focuses on the epidemiology of infectious diseases and their prevention with the use of vaccines in both the U.S. and developing countries. She has led numerous clinical trials to evaluate vaccines against a wide range of infections, including group A streptococcus, Shigella, and influenza. She participates in numerous international advisory committees for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Health Organization.
R. Scott McClelland, MD, MPH
University of Washington Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit
Dr. McClelland is a board certified physician at the Infectious Disease & Travel Medicine Clinic at Harborview and a UW professor of Medicine, Epidemiology and Global Health. He earned his MD and MPH at the UW. His research focuses on prevention and treatment of HIV and sexually transmitted infections, particularly in high-risk African women.
Mark J. Mulligan, MD
NYU Grossman School of Medicine Vaccine Center
Dr. Mulligan is an international leader in infectious disease research programs for more than three decades, and his pioneering work has profoundly advanced the field. He is the director of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology and the inaugural director of the Vaccine Center at NYU Langone Health.
Nadine Rouphael, MD
Emory Vaccine Center
Dr. Rouphael is a physician scientist with expertise in all phases of clinical trials for vaccine, diagnostic, device, antimicrobial resistance, PK/PD, epidemiology, human challenge model and translational immunology studies. Over the past 12 years, she has served as the national chair/co-chair as well as lead PI/site PI of 50 protocols and as a co-investigator for more than 130 trials addressing a variety of infectious diseases priorities in diverse populations. She serves as the Director of the Hope Clinic, the clinical arm of the Emory Vaccine Center and as the Emory VTEU PI since 2018. She is also the PI of the Clinical Core for the NIAID-funded Emory Human Immunology Project Consortium (HIPC) where she serves as the national chair for the HIPC clinical subcommittee and as a member of the HIPC scientific steering committee. She serves as a co-investigator on the Emory-CDC Clinical Trials Unit. She has mentored numerous students, residents, fellows and junior faculty and is committed to training the next generation of investigators by serving as Associate Director for the Emory T32 Vaccinology grant and as the multiple PI for the Emory Stimulating Access to Research in Residency (StARR) (R38).
Anna Wald, MD, MPH
University of Washington Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit
Dr. Wald's current research centers on the epidemiology and natural history of chronic viral infections in immunocompetent and immunocompromised hosts. She is also working on clinical trials of antiviral therapeutics and prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines for viral pathogens. Other ongoing studies address the interaction between sexually transmitted infections and microbiome. Dr. Wald emphasizes that many chronic conditions, including chronic viral infections, can only be managed with the active participation of person affected by the condition. She is a fellow of American College of Physician and Infectious Diseases Society of America. Her clinical and research interests include infectious diseases, clinical virology, sexually transmitted infections, infections in immunocompromised persons, epidemiology and vaccines for herpes virus infections.