Congratulations to our new President-Elect and three new Board members. Welcome to our new Board appointee.
President-Elect
Board Members
Board Member Representing Students, Trainees, Residents or Post-docs
Appointment by the President to Fill a Vacancy on the Board
President-Elect
David O. Freedman, MD, FASTMH
University of Alabama at Birmingham, United States
After spending 28 years as an Infectious Diseases faculty member at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and 15 years co-appointed as a Professor of Epidemiology in UAB's School of Public Health, since 2016, Dr. David Freedman has been an Emeritus Professor and remained active on a full-time basis in this and other spheres. He received a B.Sc (Hons) in Physiology from McGill and an MD from the University of Toronto, followed by training in Internal Medicine and Infectious diseases at McGill University and 5 years as a post-doc at the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, NIH. Over the last 35 years, Prof. Freedman has spent roughly 20% of his time overseas, where he has conducted translational research, taught, and developed sentinel surveillance networks and multi-sectorial partnerships in the governmental, diplomatic, military, and private sectors.
Career:
- NIH-funded RO-1 research, including a Tropical Disease Research Unit PO-1, has mapped immunopathogenetic underpinnings of filariasis in Brazil, India, Guatemala, and Ghana.
- Founding PI of the CDC-funded global GeoSentinel Surveillance Network for 18 years, a project involving 55 tropical medicine units in 23 countries that maintains the largest global database of ill travelers and migrants.
- Believing it most effective to "learn tropical medicine in the tropics"; he co-founded (with Professor Eduardo Gotuzzo, Cayetano Heredia University) and for 20 years directed the Gorgas Courses in Clinical Tropical Medicine in Peru fostering south-south and south-north partnerships. Over 1,000 physicians, public health professionals, and academic leaders from 75 countries have trained at Gorgas, including dozens of ASTMH members and leaders.
- For the past 5 years in concert with ongoing work at UAB, he worked for several private and public sector medical publishers. Dr. Freedman be able to devote significant time to ASTMH while continuing in part-time Editor/Associate editor positions with the Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal (a CDC-paid position), Sanford Guide, and UpToDate. As a lifetime Emeritus Professor at UAB, he will also continue to teach (including in Peru), mentor, consult internationally, and engage in outpatient medical practice.
Selected Awards, Honors and Service:
- Volunteer vaccinator, Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, Birmingham, Alabama
- World Health Organization--Member, International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee on Zika Virus
- World Health Organization--Member, Roster of Experts, IHR
- Honorary University-Wide Professor, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima Peru. Due to his longstanding and remarkable collaboration to the teaching and research activities at our institution.
- Sir Macfarlane Burnet Oration. 2013 Australian Society of Infectious Diseases Annual Scientific Conference.
- Honor Award, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC, Atlanta, Ga. For the development of a worldwide network that has excelled in detecting and communicating trends in travel-related morbidity
- James H. Nakano Award. For an outstanding scientific paper published by CDC in 2006. CDC, Atlanta, Ga.
- Annual listing in “Best Doctors in America” 2005-2021
- Oswaldo Cruz Foundation Centennial Medal. For outstanding contributions to the development of the Aggeu Magalhaes Research Institute, Recife Brazil
- Permanent Member, Merit Review Study Section, Infectious Diseases, Veterans Administration (1997-2000)
- Persian Gulf Expert Committee, (Chartered Committee; direct reporting to the Secretary), Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC.
- Chair, Expert Advisory Panel on Parasitic Disease Therapy, United States Pharmacopeia (USP). 1995-2000
Citations (Scopus)=5,266; h-index=34. Cites to Zika papers=266 and to COVID papers=688
Full current bio and publications:
http://scholars.uab.edu/display/freedman
Board Members
Johanna P. Daily MD, MS
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, United States
I am a Professor in the Departments of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and Microbiology and Immunology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, NY.
Education: I received a B.S. in Biology at Siena College in NY, a M.D at the State University of New York at Syracuse and a M.S., in Epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). I trained in Internal Medicine at New England Medical Center followed by an Infectious Disease fellowship at the Longwood Combined Infectious Disease Program. I trained in the laboratory of Dr. Dyann Wirth to study malaria drug resistance and pathogenesis during fellowship. I was an Instructor in Medicine, and subsequently an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and attended on the Infectious Diseases consult service at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, while launching my research program in malaria pathogenesis at HSPH. I joined Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 2009 as an Associate Professor and became a Professor in 2018. I am Board Certified in Infectious Diseases.
Current activities: At Albert Einstein College of Medicine, I run a NIH supported research program on malaria pathogenesis and provide care on the Infectious Disease Consult Service at Montefiore Medical Center (MMC). During the COVID-19 pandemic in the Bronx, I directed the COVID-19 convalescent plasma collection program for MMC and serve on the study team for a large randomized controlled trial of CP versus placebo. My educational and administrative activities at Albert Einstein included: Graduate School Curriculum Committee (2010-2016), Global Health Steering Committee member (2010-present). Clinical Research Training Program Associate Director of Mentoring and Career Development (2010-present); Albert Einstein College of Medicine Awards Committee (3/11-2019); Associate Professor Promotion Committee (3/11-2014); Course Leader Microbial Pathogenesis, Graduate school (2012-2015); Course Leader of the Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Course (2
nd year medical students) (2020-present); Professor Promotion Committee, Co-Chair (2021-present).
Awards, Editorial Boards: I have received teaching awards (Tufts Medical School Class of 1992; Teaching Award ID Fellows Longwood Combined Program, 1997; Teaching Award ID fellows, MMC in 2019 and 2020). I am on the Editorial Boards of JID, Editorial Advisory Board (2004-present), Open Forum Infectious Diseases, Associate Editor (2014-2020), Infection and Immunity (2015-present). I am the UpToDate section Editor for Malaria and Babesia topics (2007-present). I am a reviewer for NEJM, Plos Pathogens, JID and other journals. I serve as an Ad Hoc Reviewer for the Wellcome Trust. I have served on various NIH Study Sections, Ad Hoc since 2009, and am a permanent member of the Microbiology and Infectious Disease-B panel (2018-present). I served as an Advisor to Kingdom of Swaziland National Malaria Program/Clinton Foundation: Development of National Treatment and Diagnostic guidelines (2009); Gorgas Tropical Medicine Course Faculty, Lima, Peru (2016). I am director of scholarly activity and career development for the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Montefiore Medical Center and run an annual Research Day for the Department of Medicine (2016-present).
Other: Ichan School of Medicine, NY; yearly in Zoonoses: An Emerging Public Health Issue.“Malaria: A Relentless Public Health Challenge (2017-present).
Keke Fairfax, PhD
University of Utah, United States
I received my PhD in Microbial Pathogenesis from Yale University in 2009. My dissertation work focused on identifying novel fatty acid binding proteins in the human hookworm Ancylostoma ceylanicum. I completed my post-doctoral training in Schistosoma mansoni immuno-parasitology with Edward Pearce and Gwendalyn Randolph in 2014. I began my independent laboratory at Purdue University in 2014 and moved to the University of Utah in 2018. I became the Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion for the Department of Pathology in 2020. I am a standing member of the IHD study section and have served as an AdHoc member of multiple NIH Study sections, as well as on the microbiology Fellowship study section of The American Heart Association. I have been a Deputy Editor at PlosNTD since 2020, and routinely serve as a Guest Editor for PlosPathogens. I serve on the admissions committees for both the MD/PhD and Molecular Biosciences PhD Programs, as well as on the Department of Pathology Graduate Advisory Committee.
To date I have published 17 research papers and 2 reviews with over 800 citations. As an Immunology and Infectious Disease educator I have organized and/or been a co-instructor for one Veterinary Medicine and five Graduate level courses. I also serve as a lecturer in the world-renowned Biology of Parasitism Course at Woods Hole. I currently serve, or have served on 12 qualifying, MS thesis, or PhD thesis committees at Purdue University and the University of Utah. I have directly mentored 2 PhD graduate students, 6 undergraduate students, one Dentistry Student, and one veterinary medicine student, the majority of which were women and/or URM. I also serve as a non-scientific mentor for one Black female trainee through the U-HELM mentoring Program at the University of Utah and mentor a Kenyan immuno-parasitologist launching his independent lab in Kenya.
Board Member Representing Students, Trainees, Residents or Post-docs Candidates
Bartholomew N. Ondigo, PhD
NIH/NIAID, United States
I was born and raised in Nakuru, Kenya. As I grew up, my father, who was a government employee, instilled values of aiming high, discipline, and hard work within me from elementary school to the university. He emphasized the importance of having a positive impact on the society. On the other hand, my mother, a retired teacher, emphasized to me the need for kindness, compassion, and empathy for each human being. I discovered my interest in biomedical sciences as an undergraduate student, graduating with a first-class honor as the topmost student in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Maseno University, Kenya.
Subsequently, I received several awards, including a Biosciences eastern and central Africa competitive fellowship from the Canadian International Development Agency/New Partnership for Africa Development, which allowed me to pursue a master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences at Maseno University and to perform a project at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Kenya. There, I gained basic expertise in immunological assays and wrote a thesis on the use of recombinant proteins of
Mycoplasma mycoides subsp.
mycoides to improve diagnosis of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia. As much as I enjoyed studying and working in a well-established research environment at ILRI, my passion for human health led me to switch from veterinary immunology to basic and applied immunology to study mechanisms underlying host-pathogen interactions with a focus on infectious diseases. My Ph.D. studies focused on the longevity of antibody responses to multiple malaria antigens in individuals living in epidemic-prone regions sponsored by a NIH-Fogarty D43 training grant. As a visiting scholar at the Center for Translational Research in Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Minnesota, USA, I won a Northern Pacific Global Health Fellowship which enabled me to continue to study antibody responses to malaria. This training opportunity also expanded my knowledge on global health and social determinants of health. Later, I completed my Ph.D. training from Maseno University and expanded my mentors to include faculty at Indiana University, USA.
I carried on my research as a post-doctoral fellow in an array of research institutions, at the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases at University of Georgia, Georgia, the Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA and Center for Global Health and Research at Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kisumu, Kenya. This opportunity allowed me to expand my knowledge of helminthic parasites, serological assays, gain additional set of mentors from these leading research institutions and to study immune responses to schistosomiasis in infected individuals living in western Kenya. At present, I am a post-doctoral fellow at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, in the laboratory of malaria immunology and vaccinology, NIH, USA. The focus of my research studies is on innate immunity and macrophage activation markers in placental malaria. Outside my lab work, I enjoy learning about different countries and cultures across the world. I look forward to continued opportunities to travel, conduct research, and interact with scientists all over the world.
Appointment by the President to Fill a Vacancy on the Board
ASTMH Member Bhupendra Tripathi, MD
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, India
Bhupendra is a Physician with Post graduation in Public Health. For the past two decades, his focus areas have been health systems strengthening, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child health, immunization and NTD’s. He has been working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for more than seven years and is a member of the Infectious Diseases Cluster at the India Country Office, New Delhi.
His current work is focused on the elimination of two neglected tropical diseases, Lymphatic Filariasis and Visceral Leishmaniasis (Kala Azar) in India. He works closely with the government of India at the national, state and district levels. He aims to strengthen the MoHFW/National Vector Borne Diseases Control Program at all levels so that elimination status is achieved soon and post elimination efforts are well sustained by government resources. Working with implementation partners, he has been able to strengthen disease surveillance, mass drug administration (MDA) campaigns and indoor residual spray (IRS) activities in endemic geographies. His efforts were also focused on IDA introduction and scale-up and now he is working with the team to ensure improved coverage for MDA and IRS for diseases elimination.
Before joining the Foundation’s NTD team full-time, Bhupendra worked with the Foundation’s Vaccine Delivery team since 2014 to lead the coverage and equity portfolio for ‘routine immunization’ across India. He managed the Immunization Technical Support Unit (ITSU) and was instrumental in supporting the initiatives of Prime Minister’s Office on Immunization - ‘Mission Indradhanush – MI’, Intensive MI, Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, eGSA. He worked closely with the national/state Governments, Gavi-Health System Strengthening and other implementing partners to improve immunization coverage with equity. He was a member of the Global Urban Immunization Working Group supporting better immunization coverage in urban/peri-urban/slum areas. He played a key role in strengthening Adverse Effects Following Immunization (AEFI) Surveillance System and real-time immunization data visibility for the country. He was the Founder National Chairperson for the ‘Alliance for Immunization’ in India.
Before joining the Foundation, he worked with John Snow Inc. as the National Team Lead for a USAID funded project working on RMNCHA & RI strengthening across multiple states. He also worked as a national consultant with the UNICEF-India Country Office for Measles Elimination through Catch-up Campaigns.
Prior to that, he served in WHO-NPSP for polio eradication for 8 years and worked extensively across high focus geographies. He spent maximum time at Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh (epicenter of Polio) to strengthen the AFP surveillance and investigate Polio cases. He was part of multiple sero-studies conducted for polio eradication. His work was instrumental in changing the national guidelines on AFP surveillance (Baseline rate was increased from one to two AFP case/year/15 yrs population). He took part in multiple international/national reviews for polio eradication/routine immunization/NTD’s
Bhupendra received his MD from MLN Medical College, Allahabad and MBBS from MLB Medical College, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh. Later, he did his advanced courses from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and University of Geneva. He loves traveling to remote areas to learn from the local culture and to understand their needs in a better way.