Resolving Inflammation: A Revolutionary Therapeutic in Progress and How It Came to Be

Speakers

Charles N. Serhan, MD

Harvard University and Brigham & Women's Hospital
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Charles N. Serhan was recently appointed the first Endowed Distinguished Scientist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and currently serves as director of the Center for Experimental Therapeutics and Reperfusion Injury (CET&RI) at BWH. He is also the Simon Gelman Professor at Harvard Medical School.

The research undertaken in the Serhan laboratory focuses on structural elucidation of bioactive molecules. The overall mission is to identify novel pathways and cellular targets critical in regulating neutrophil-mediated inflammation and to establish the templates for physiologic small molecule-based interventions. In the CET&RI, the overarching mission is to define the molecular mechanisms underlying reperfusion injury and to identify novel therapeutic interventions that can prevent cell injury.

Christopher Karp, MD

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
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Christopher Karp is the Gunnar Esiason/Cincinnati Bell Chair and director of the Division of Molecular Immunology. He is also a professor of pediatrics, associate director of the Graduate Program in Immunobiology and director of the Cystic Fibrosis Research Center at the University of Cincinnati.

Karp received his MD from University of North Carolina School of Medicine.The Karp lab focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying regulation and dysregulation of inflammatory responses in human infectious, autoimmune and genetic diseases.

Derek W. Gilroy, PhD

University College London
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Derek Gilroy's scientific career started out at the Imperial College School of Medicine, Royal Postgraduate Medical School, University of London, where he received his MSc degree in 1993, followed by a PhD degree four years later. At present, he is Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellow at the Department of Medicine, Rayne Institute, University College of London. Here, he conducts his research activities that mainly center on the pathogenesis of chronic inflammation and auto-immunity.

In the course of his scientific career, Gilroy collected important experience abroad: He first worked as research fellow at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences in Taipeh, Taiwan, from 1998–1999. One year later, he deepened his knowledge as postdoctorate research fellow at the Vascular Biology Research Center and Division of Hematology at the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center Medical School, USA. After his return, he continued as honorary lecturer and postdoctorate research scientist at the William Harvey Research Institute, St. Bartholomew's, and the Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London.

Gilroy is particularly interested in the biochemical pathways that orchestrate the innate and adaptive immune response.

Julio Aliberti, PhD

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
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Julio Aliberti is an assistant professor in the Divisions of Molecular Immunology and Pulmonary Medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Aliberti received his PhD from the Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP) /Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, in 1998. He completed postdoctoral work in the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease at the National Institutes of Health. After his postdoc, he was an assistant professor at Duke University Medical Center until his move to Cincinnati in 2006.Aliberti was the recipient of the Young Investigator Award from the Brazilian Society of Immunology in 1997 and the Fellow Award in Research Excellence from the NIH in 2000 and 2002. He was also awarded the Woods Hole Immunoparasitology Research Excellence Award in 2002.

John F. Parkinson, PhD

Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals
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John Parkinson is a senior research scientist at Berlex Biosciences/Bayer Schering Pharma. He is currently responsible for research in two development stage projects for GBU-Specialized Therapeutics (chronic immune disorders) with emerging responsibilities in project management on biologics for treating hemophilia.

As a senior scientist in the immunology department of Berlex Biosciences, Parkinson led projects on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and established external collaborations for lipoxin efficacy in colitis models of IBD, allergic airway inflammation, acute inflammation, and autoimmunity. He was also a leader or mentor for a number of other projects, including validation of a novel immunoreceptor target in animal models of IBD, validation of a novel kinase target in CD4+ CD8+ T cells and macrophages in EAE models of multiple sclerosis, and studies on metalloenzyme inhibitors. He has given numerous invited lectures and served on the supervisory board of several institutions and conferences.

Parkinson obtained a PhD from the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Bristol, Bristol, U.K.

Sheila Sperber Haas

Sheila Sperber Haas is a freelance science and health care writer living in New York City who writes about issues ranging from molecular biology and immunology to complementary and alternative medicine. Her varied projects include Dermatology Focus, bringing the forefront of molecular investigative dermatology to a clinical readership.