Careers in Science: Lecture and Roundtable

Table Leader Mini-Bios

Arthur Weiss, M.D., Ph.D., is the immediate Past President of AAI, an HHMI investigator, and Ephraim P. Engleman Distinguished Professor of Rheumatology and Professor of Medicine, Microbiology, and Immunology at UCSF. He received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Chicago and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research in Lausanne before moving to UCSF. He has been an HHMI investigator since 1982 and is Director of the Medical Scientist Training Program. His research addresses the biochemical signal transduction events that control T cell responses.

Gail Bishop, Ph.D., is an AAI Councilor and Carver College of Medicine Distinguished Professor of Microbiology and Internal Medicine at the University of Iowa. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She has been a full professor and Director of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Immunology Program at the University of Iowa since 1998 and has served on myriad grant review panels. Her research has focused on many aspects of lymphocyte activation and tolerance, particularly antigen-specific T cell: B cell interactions.
Janis Burkhardt, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. She received her Ph.D. from Duke University and has been at the University of Pennsylvania since 2003. She is currently mentoring several graduate students and postdoctoral fellows and is on the Immunology Graduate Group Student Affairs Committee. Her research focuses on the role of the cytoskeleton in T cell and dendritic cell function. 
Patricia Fitzgerald- Bocarsly, Ph.D., is a Professor at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. She received her Ph.D. from Boston University and carried out postdoctoral research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Her research is currently focused on innate immune responses to viral infection and the roles of dendritic cells and type I interferon in particular. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and has served as a Section Editor for The Journal of Immunology.  Dr. Fitzgerald-Bocarsly has also raised three children – the youngest is 17 – while she successfully built her career as a scientist.  
John G. Monroe, Ph.D., is the Director of ITGR Biomarker Discovery Group at Genentech in San Francisco. He earned his Ph.D. at Duke University and was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School. Prior to moving to Genentech in 2008, Dr. Monroe was Professor and Vice Chair for Immunobiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Director of Cancer Immunology for the Abramson Family Cancer Center. Dr. Monroe is the past Program Chair of the AAI Program Committee 2006 – 2009. For his exemplary service to the field he received the 2009 AAI Distinguished Service Award.  
Monica Mann, Ph.D., is a Medical Science Liaison with EMD Serono. Her expertise is in neurobiology and inflammation. She received her Ph.D. from the Medical College of Wisconsin and did a postdoctoral fellowship at the BloodCenter of Wisconsin using the mouse model of MS (EAE) to study neuronal and immune system response during CNS inflammation. Her corporate talents include building relationships and improving scientific communication between EMD Serono and the key opinion leaders specializing in multiple sclerosis.
Daniela Verthelyi, M.D., Ph.D., is the Chief of the Laboratory of Immunology within the Division of Therapeutic Proteins of the FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. She received her M.D. from the University of Buenos Aires and her Ph.D. from Virginia Tech. She directs research in vaccine development and autoimmunity and has published numerous peer-reviewed articles. She is also involved in developing the regulatory guidance for pre-clinical testing of therapeutic proteins and is the coordinator of the NIH/FDA Cytokine Interest Group. 
F. Alan Sher, Ph.D., is the Chief of the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH. The main focus of the Sher lab is studies of host resistance and immune regulation in parasitic and other infectious diseases of global importance. Dr. Sher is a world renowned expert on the immunopathology of T. gondii, Mycobacterium spp. and Helicobacter spp., which he studies in murine models. The ultimate goal of this research is effective vaccines and/or immunotherapies. Dr. Sher is a sought-after lecturer and is honored as an AAI Distinguished Lecturer this year. Dr. Sher is active in several societies and organizations including the Trudeau Institute, where he is a member of the scientific advisory board.
Gerald Sonnenfeld, Ph.D., is the Vice President for Research and Professor of Biological Sciences at Binghamton University, State University of New York. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. His research focus includes understanding the effects of stress and space-flight on the immune system. Dr. Sonnenfeld has been an active AAI member and is being recognized with the 2010 Distinguished Service Award for dedication and exemplary service on the Minority Affairs Committee. As Vice President for Research, he oversees research programs within the university as well as collaborations with industry. 
Andy Kokaji, Ph.D., is a research scientist at STEMCELL Technologies, Inc. in Vancouver, British Columbia. He received his Ph.D. in 2008 from the University of Alberta and carried out his graduate research on T cell reactivation and memory responses in the laboratory of Dr. Kevin Kane. Following his Ph.D., he pursued further training as a research scientist at STEMCELL Technologies, where he works on developing new cell separation products and has been able to see projects go from inception to market launch. 
Mitchell Kronenberg, Ph.D., is the President and CSO of the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology and the Secretary-Treasurer of AAI. He received his Ph.D. and was a postdoctoral fellow at Caltech and then joined the faculty of UCLA, where he became a full professor. In 1997, Dr. Kronenberg moved to the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology, where even as President he has maintained a large lab of trainees and continued his prolific research on NKT cells and how they grow and regulate other cell types. He is an IMMUNOLOGY 2010TM Distinguished Lecturer, a Deputy Editor of The JI, and is one of the most highly cited immunologists in the world. 
Patricia Cortes, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Clinical Immunology at Mt. Sinai Medical Center, New York City. Dr. Cortes received her Ph.D. from the University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She was then a postdoctoral fellow with David Baltimore before starting her lab at Mt. Sinai. Her research focus is on the mechanisms and regulation of immunoglobulin gene rearrangements. 
M. Michele Hogan, Ph.D., is the Executive Director of AAI and the Executive Editor of The Journal of Immunology. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota School of Medicine, Dept of Lab Med and Pathology and did a postdoctoral fellowship with Stefanie Vogel in Bethesda, MD. Following, she moved to NIAID, NIH to the extramural research division (DAIT) where she was Chief of the Basic Immunology Branch prior to coming to AAI in 1995 as Executive Director. Dr. Hogan has served on numerous committees and boards related to non profit, foundation and scientific society management and issues.
Susan Wolski, J.D., is a PCT Special Programs Examiner in the Office of PCT Legal Administration at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).  She began her tenure at the USPTO as patent examiner in biotechnology and completed her law degree at George Washington University during that time.  Prior to joining the USPTO, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology and a Master’s Degree in Immunology from the University of Maryland.  She has also worked in research at the University of Maryland, the American Type Culture Collection, and the Uniformed Services University, and in the sales of scientific instrumentation for Beckman Instruments. 
Lauren Gross, J.D., is the AAI Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs. She received her undergraduate degree from Yale College and her law degree from New York University School of Law. She was a litigator in private practice before serving as a legislative assistant to the late Senator Claiborne Pell (D-RI) and as a counsel to the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee. Before joining AAI, she served as Director of Health and Economic Policy at the American Nurses Association.
Jill Slansky, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Integrated Department of Immunology at University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, with her laboratory located at National Jewish Health. She is also Co-leader of University of Colorado Cancer Center’s Immunology and Immunotherapy Program. Her research expertise is in cancer immunology, with a focus on developing cancer vaccines. Dr. Slansky received her Ph.D. from University of Wisconsin, Madison and did a postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine before joining the faculty of UCDSM. 
Thais Salazar-Mather, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at Brown University. She received her Ph.D. from Marshall University and did a postdoctoral fellowship at Brown University. Her research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms controlling immune cell trafficking into infected tissues. She teaches Medical Microbiology, for which she has received the Dean’s Teaching in Excellence Award for the past five years. 
Terri M. Laufer, M.D., is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She completed her M.D. at Columbia University and did postdoctoral training in the lab of Dr. Laurie Glimcher at Harvard University. She blends her basic and clinical interests by running a lab focused on T cell development and autoimmunity while also practicing rheumatology. Dr. Laufer has also been the Course Director of the AAI Introductory Course in Immunology from 2006 – 2010. 
Sharon Stranford, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at Mount Holyoke College. She received her Ph.D. from Drexel University and completed postdoctoral training at Oxford University and the University of California, San Francisco. She teaches courses in Cell Biology and Immunology as well as an Emerging Infectious Disease Seminar. Her research involves the study of immune responses to retroviral infections. Dr. Stranford is the Chair of the AAI Education Committee and has led many sessions on the importance and challenges of undergraduate research.