Training

IDCRC Mentorship Program

The IDCRC Mentorship Program is designed to offer mentoring and development of early career investigators and fellows in clinical and translational infectious diseases research. The IDCRC Mentorship Program is structured as a two-year program which includes mentoring advisory meetings, lectures and seminars, and other opportunities tailored to the mentee’s career goals.

Natalya Beneschott, MD

Natalya Beneschott, MD, is a clinical fellow in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Beneschott's research focuses on the host immune response, specifically the immunobiology in the post-operative period after congenital heart disease repair. The pathophysiology of PICS (Persistent Inflammation, Immunosuppression, & Catabolism Syndrome) in the CHD population is the focus of her fellow research project.

Sumanth Cherukumilli, MD

Sumanth Cherukumilli, MD, is a clinical fellow in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. His research focus is on antimicrobial resistance in low- and middle-income countries, specifically Mali. He is interested in the impact of antimicrobial resistance on neonatal outcomes, focusing primarily on Gram negative Enterobacterales pathogens.

E. Chandler Church, MD, MSc

E. Chandler Church, MD, MSc, is a staff physician in the Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Division at the University of Washington/Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. Dr. Church's research focuses on TB vaccine development and novel TB diagnostics, as well as conduct of clinical trials focusing on prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, especially tuberculosis, malaria, and SARS-CoV2. She is currently working on the development of a BCG challenge model for TB treatment and vaccine clinical trials, as well as working as a site PI for SARS-CoV2 treatment and malaria vaccine trials.

Danielle Fayad, MD

Danielle Fayad, MD, is a clinical fellow in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Dr. Fayad's research interests include clinical vaccine development and epidemiology of respiratory viral infections, focusing on maternal and infant influenza.

Andrew B. Fleming, MD

Andrew B. Fleming, MD is an assistant professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases & Immunology at NYU Langone. Dr. Fleming’s research interests are clinical trials for vaccines and anti-infectives, including vaccines for zoonotic and emerging infectious diseases.

Daniel S. Graciaa, MD, MPH, MSc

Daniel S. Graciaa, MD, MPH, MSc, is an assistant professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Emory University. Dr. Graciaa's research interests are focused on clinical and translational investigation of vaccines including for influenza, tuberculosis, and COVID-19.

Cassie Grimsley Ackerley, MD

Cassie Grimsley Ackerley, MD, is an assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Emory University. Dr. Grimsley Ackerley's research focuses on understanding the biological mechanisms that influence mucosal immune responses and vaccine-induced immunogenicity, particularly among sexual and gender minority populations.

Sabiha Hussain, MD

Sabiha Hussain, MD, is a clinical fellow of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children's Hospital. Dr. Hussain's research focuses on nasal microbiota of preterm infants prior to NICU discharge and during acute respiratory viral infections.

Lauren Jatt, MD

Lauren Jatt, MD is a fellow of Infectious Diseases at the University of Washington. Dr. Jatt's previous work has focused on the intersection of vaccine epidemiology, immunology, and clinical trials. Her current research focuses on using data from controlled human malaria infection trials to identify correlates of protection to malaria.

Robert A. Pitts, MD

Robert A. Pitts, MD, is an assistant professor of Infectious Diseases at NYU Lagone. Dr. Pitts' research focuses on HIV prevention through implementation of novel ARVs among vulnerable populations in collaboration with community partners.

Nina S. Prasanphanich, MD

Nina Salinger Prasanphanich, MD, is a research fellow of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Dr. Prasanphanich's research program aims to understand how maternal immune cells in the placenta fight bacterial infections, and translate basic discoveries into therapies that prevent maternal and neonatal infections.

Anne-Marie Rick, MD, MPH, PhD

Anne-Marie Rick, MD, MPH, PhD, is an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Rick's research interests are in infectious diseases related to maternal-infant health including newborn sepsis, perinatal hepatitis C, and protection of newborns from viral infections including influenza, RSV, and COVID-19 following maternal vaccine and infection during pregnancy and lactation.

Paulina Sudnik, MD

Paulina Sudnik, MD, is an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Rochester. Dr. Sudnik is interested in studying manifestations of infectious diseases depending on the host characteristics such as gene expressions and immunity. She is currently working on studying mechanisms of cardiac complications in patients with acute respiratory viral infections.

Cristina Tomatis Souverbielle, MD

Cristina Tomatis Souverbielle, MD, is an assistant professor in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Dr. Tomatis research focus is immune response to vaccines, particularly in special populations such as adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease. Another area of work is viral infections in young infants.

Thinzar Wai, MBBS, MHA, MS

Thinzar Wai, MBBS, MHA, MS, is an assistant professor of Infectious Diseases at the University of Rochester. Dr. Wai's research interest lies in the field of virology, specifically in the development and clinical evaluation of vaccine. She is learning the complexities of HIV vaccine development, safety and efficacy.

T32 Training Programs in Vaccine Sciences

Two academic centers within the LOC, Emory University and University of Maryland have the nation’s only T32 Training Programs in Vaccine Sciences.

University of Maryland Center for Vaccine Development (CVD) T32 Training Program in Vaccinology

The program, in existence for 20 years, includes 32 training faculty who span all phases of vaccinology. The program includes a core curriculum designed to convey the interdisciplinary nature of the field and provides context for the specific area of research. Dr. Kathleen Neuzil, Co-Chair of the IDCRC, is the Co-Director of the University of Maryland program.

Emory Vaccine T32 Training Program in Vaccinology

The program, established in 2010 supports young researchers across several disciplines to integrate basic, translational, clinical, analytic, social and applied sciences in Vaccinology. There are 40 preceptors from 12 departments/programs in the program. It introduces PhD, MD, and MD/PhD scientists with diverse backgrounds to a comprehensive advanced training program. Dr. Walter Orenstein, a member of the IDCRCLG, is the founding and current PI for the Emory Vaccinology Training Grant.

Other Related T32 Training Grants

The UAB Division of Infectious Diseases T32 Training Grant has longstanding strength in mentoring in all aspects of the study of STI, especially chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and genital herpes. The goal of University of Washington’s STD/AIDS T32 Research Training Grant is to train the next generation of leaders in STI and AIDS research; SDSU Director, Dr. Elizabeth Brown, is a mentor on this grant. In addition, the existing clinical and translational training programs at each of the eight academic medical centers within the LOC consortium provide model programs, experienced mentors and have institutional K, T and Masters’ programs in Clinical Research and Public Health.

These existing programs include:

• Emory University Clinical and Translational Research: Supported by the Georgia CTSA: Clinical Research Bootcamp designed to provide junior investigators with a comprehensive overview of key clinical research concepts
• Biostatistics for clinical and translational researchers, a weeklong biostatistics course that covers statistical concepts and analytical methods for data encountered in the biomedical sciences, biotechnology, and clinical/translational research
• Grant Writing Bootcamp, a series of scientific and grant writing sessions for early career investigators
• Team Science Training, a colloquium that addresses how to conduct team science
• Mentor training for trainees, a workshop devoted to optimizing the mentor-mentee relationship adapted from the NIH National Research Mentoring Network.

Research Training at NIAID