Antipoverty Vaccines: Strategies against Neglected Tropical Diseases

Speakers

Peter J. Hotez, MD, PhD

The George Washington University
Sabin Vaccine Institute
e-mail | web site | publications

Peter Hotez is Walter G. Ross Professor and chair of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Tropical Medicine at the George Washington University, and president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute. He works to develop vaccines for parasitic and tropical diseases, particularly for hookworm-induced malnutrition and anemia. In addition to his professional papers, he is the author of two books, Parasitic Diseases and Krugman's Infectious Diseases of Children. He has also authored articles on international science policy for publications including The Washington Post, Scientific American, and Foreign Policy. He also sits on the advisory council of the Academy's Scientists Without Borders initiative.

Hotez is the recipient of the Henry Baldwin Ward Medal from the American Society for Parasitologists and a Young Investigator Award from the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Pedriatics (FAAP). He completed his MD and PhD at the medical scientist training program at Cornell University and the Rockefeller University. After completing his residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital, he was on the faculty of Yale University for 12 years, before joining George Washington University.

Luis M. de la Maza, MD

University of California, Irvine
e-mail | web site | publications

Luis de la Maza is director of the Division of Medical Microbiology at the University of California, Irvine. He is working to understand the viability of vaccinating experimental animals with purified major outer membrane protein (MOMP) of the C. trachomatis mouse pneumonitis biovar. His laboratory is also focused on improving the diagnostic methods for the detection of C. trachomatis in clinical specimens, specifically by exploring the use of polymerase chain reaction techniques. De la Maza completed his MD at the Facultad de Medicina, Spain, and his PhD at the University of Minnesota.

Albert I. Ko, MD

Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde, Brazil
e-mail | publications

Albert Ko is an associate professor of Medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University and visiting researcher at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Brazilian Ministry of Health. He completed his MD at Harvard Medical School and was trained in internal medicine at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and in infectious diseases at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Since 1996 he has worked in the city of Salvador, Brazil, where he coordinates a Global Infectious Disease Training Program which focuses on infectious diseases that have emerged due to urbanization and urban poverty. Current research includes community-based cohort studies on leptospirosis, pneumonia, and meningitis among slum populations. Ongoing translational research focuses on identifying virulence factors in Leptospira and using these determinants to develop improved diagnostics and vaccine candidates for leptospirosis. The overall aim of these investigations is to train public health professionals and researchers in addressing emerging health problems in impoverished urban populations.

Marilynn Larkin

Marilynn Larkin is a medical editor, journalist, and videographer based in New York City. Her work has frequently appeared in, among others, The Lancet, The Lancet Infectious Diseases, and Reuters Health's professional newswire. She has served as editor of many clinical publications and is author of five medical books for general readers as well as Reporting on Health Risk, a handbook for journalists. She is currently head of publications for The Society for Biomolecular Sciences.

In 2004, Ms. Larkin started her own fitness consulting company (www.mlarkinfitness.com), and developed a class, Posture-cize, that helps people improve their posture, increase productivity, and reduce injury.