Expert Directory
John J. Volpi, MD
Associate Professor of Clinical Neurology, Academic Institute Assistant Member, Research Institute Elkins Family Distinguished Centennial Clinical Academic Scholar in Neurology, Houston Methodist Weill Cornell Medical College
Houston MethodistEpilepsy,intracerebral hemorrhage,Stroke,Ultrasound
Dr. John Volpi specializes in the evaluation of hospitalized patients and outpatients with cerebrovascular disease, such as ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke as well as the critical care of patients with other neurological diseases. His primary clinical and research interests are in the management and prevention of ischemic stroke and the critical care of patients with neurological illnesses, such as intracerebral hemorrhage, trauma, and nervous system infections. Dr. Volpi´s research interests are in the management and prevention of ischemic stroke, and the critical care of patients with neurological illnesses such as intracerebral hemorrhage, epilepsy, and nervous system infections. His studies also involve the use of ultrasound in the evaluation of blood flow to the brain and development of novel therapies for improving patient outcomes in stroke.
Stanley H. Appel, MD
Peggy & Gary Edwards Distinguished Endowed Chair, Stanley H. Appel Department of Neurology Professor of Neurology, Academic Institute Full Member, Research Institute Co-Director, Neurological Institute Houston Methodist Weill Cornell Medical College
Houston MethodistAlzheimer’s disease,Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis,Neurodegenerative Diseases,Neuromuscular Disorders,Parkinson’s disease
Stanley H. Appel, M.D. is the Peggy and Gary Edwards Distinguished Endowed Chair for the Treatment and Research of ALS, Department of Neurology, Neurological Institute, Houston Methodist Hospital, and Professor of Neurology at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. He was previously Chair of the Department of Neurology at Baylor College of Medicine as well as Chief of the Neurology division and the James B. Duke Professor of Medicine at Duke University Medical Center, North Carolina. Dr. Appel is a native of Massachusetts and received his Bachelor Degree at Harvard University and his Medical Degree from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. He is Director of the MDA/ALS Research and Clinical Center at the Methodist Neurological Institute, and past Director of a National Institute of Aging Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Dr. Appel is a member of numerous professional societies and committees and is the author of 15 published books and over 350 articles on topics such as ALS, neuromuscular disease, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Parkinson’s Disease. He has received a number of awards for his accomplishments in Neurology and Biochemistry, including the Gold Medal Award in 1997 from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons for “Distinguished Achievements in Medicine”, the Sheila Essey Award in 2003 from the American Academy of Neurology for “outstanding research in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis”, Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in recognition of the “dedication and commitment to advancing science and serving society” in 2003, Baylor College of Medicine Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty Award in 2004, MDA’s Wings Over Wall Street Diamond Award in 2004, Texas Neurological Society Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005 and the Forbes Norris Award for “compassion and love for humanity in research and treatment in patients with ALS” from the International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations in 2005, and the Museum District Business Alliance Award in recognition of his commitment to research, patient care, and education, 2007, and the recipient of the Houston Academy of Medicine 2008 John P. McGovern Compleat Physician Award. He is also named 2008 Best of the Best Physicians by the Medical Journal of Houston. Research in Dr. Appel’s laboratory has focused on developing new insights into neurodegenerative diseases with primary emphasis on ALS. His studies of mutant SOD transgenic mice have documented that neuroinflammation and activated microglia are neuroprotective during the early stages of the disease and cytotoxic during the late stages of the disease. The early stages start within motor neurons and appear cell-autonomous, whereas later stages involve innate immune glia and are non-cell-autonomous. These two stages appear to be modulated by peripheral T-cells that enter the CNS at sites of neuronal injury; Th2 and regulatory T-cells are increased in early stages and appear to provide neuroprotection, while Th1 T-cells are increased in later stages and mediate cytotoxicity. Transplantation of ALS mice with regulatory T cells prolonged disease duration by more than 80%. Our comparable studies in human ALS have employed PCR techniques to confirm the presence of activated microglia and to demonstrate the presence of CD4 T-cells as well as immature and mature dendritic cells and enhanced chemokine signaling. Our laboratory was the first to document that regulatory T lymphocytes modulate disease progression in ALS patients. More specifically, regulatory T lymphocytes are decreased in ALS patients that progress at a faster rate; the levels of Treg may thus serve as a biomarker of rates of disease progression. His current efforts are focused on enhancing the protective immunity of Treg cells and anti-inflammatory microglia, and decreasing the pro-inflammatory immunity of Th1 effector lymphocytes and proinflammatory microglia.
Emergency Medicine
Sarah Pletcher, MD MHCDS
Vice President & Executive Medical Director, Virtual Care
Houston MethodistHealth,provider education,Telemedicine
Dr. Sarah N Pletcher is the Vice President and Executive Medical Director of Virtual Care at Houston Methodist. In this role, she leads the health system on strategies, processes, practice and education around system-wide virtual care and digital health programs across the organization. Prior to joining Houston Methodist, Dr. Pletcher was the founder of the Centers for Connected Care & Telehealth at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, where she led the health system in the selection and implementation of new strategies utilizing telehealth technology platforms, and developed new clinical products and telemedicine programs across multiple specialties, and in multiple settings. As a consultant, Dr. Pletcher has advised health systems, policymakers, and investors about disruptive technologies and new business models that can provide value in serving populations. She is frequently sought as a thought leader and invited speaker in areas of telemedicine, health, innovation, clinical quality improvement, provider education, and rural program development; and has been the principal investigator on over 15 million dollars of grant and foundational funding to advance these initiatives.
Faisal N. Masud, MD, FCCP, FCCM
Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology, Academic Institute Mary A. and M. Samuel Daffin, Sr. Centennial Chair in Anesthesia and Critical Care, Houston Methodist Weill Cornell Medical College
Houston MethodistCardiac critical care,COVID-19,Infection Control,Patient Safety
Dr. Faisal Masud serves as Board Member, Houston Methodist Board of Directors, and Medical Director of Center for Critical Care at Houston Methodist Hospital System overseeing 8 hospitals ICU’s and V-ICU. He also serves as Vice-Chair for Quality and Patient Safety, the Associate Quality Officer, and Medical Director, Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit, Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center. He is Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, Professor of Anesthesiology at Houston Methodist Institute of Academic Medicine, and Professor in the Department of Acute & Continuing Care at UT-Houston. He received his training at Duke University Medical Center and Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Among his many awards is Presidential Gold Medal. He has been the recipient of the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching four times, the Dean H. Morrow Resident Mentor Award in 2001, and the most prestigious Fulbright & Jaworski Faculty Excellence Award in Educational Leadership. He was elected a member of the Academy of Distinguished Educators at Baylor College of Medicine. He received the Association of Professional in Infection Control (APIC) National award for Heroes in Infection Prevention 2010. He is also a recipient of the Overstreet Award for exemplifying the best of the medical profession. Dr. Masud's leadership resulted in great improvements in patient care and clinical outcomes, in patient safety & quality, sepsis control, central line infections, ventilator associated pneumonia, surgical site infections, blood transfusions, pharmacy etc. resulting hundreds of lives saved and millions of dollar in cost savings. His focus is on improving healthcare in underdeveloped health systems in less developed countries and has been doing volunteer work to improve healthcare in vulnerable areas for many years. He is also the Board Member of Shifa USA a Houston based charitable organization providing free medical and dental care, women shelter, etc. He has many research projects, publications and is an invited faculty at multiple local, state, national meetings and international conferences and meetings including Canada, Malaysia, Israel, China, Pakistan, Brazil, Dubai, and Saudi Arabia.
Karla Kurrelmeyer, MD, FACC, FASE
Associate Professor of Clinical Cardiology, Academic Institute Assistant Clinical Member, Research Institute Houston Methodist Weill Cornell Medical College
Houston MethodistAortic Regurgitation,Cytokines,Diastolic Heart Failure,Heart Failure,Inflammation
Dr. Kurrelmeyer began her research activities while still a cardiology fellow at the Baylor College of Medicine where she won the Best Basic Research Award in 1998. That same year, she was also the recipient of the American Heart Association Melvin L. Marcus Young Investigator Award in Cardiovascular Science. Dr. Kurrelmeyer stayed at Baylor after completing her fellowship and was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Medicine there in 2000. She joined the Physician´s Organization at Methodist in 2005 and received her faculty appointment at the Weill Medical School the following year. Dr. Kurrelmeyer´s research centers on the role of inflammatory cytokines on disease progression in heart failure. She also conducts investigations into new treatments for diastolic heart failure and aortic regurgitation.
Khurram Nasir, MD, MPH
Jerold B. Katz Investigator, Academic Institute Chief, Division of Cardiovascular Prevention and Wellness, Department of Cardiology Co-director, Center for Outcomes Research Houston Methodist
Houston MethodistCardiology,Preventive Cardiology
Dr. Nasir received his MD from Pakistan, followed by an MPH at John Hopkins University. Dr. Nasir completed his internal medicine residency at Boston Medical Center and a cardiology fellowship at Yale University. He also received postdoctoral research training at the division of cardiology at Johns Hopkins Hospital and was the recipient of NIH T-32 fellowship in cardiac imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital. He recently earned a Master’s degree in Health Economics and Policy Management from the London School of Economics & Political Science. Dr. Nasir serves as Associate Editor for Circulation: Quality of Care and Outcomes, an editorial board member for Circulation as well on the board of directors for the American Society of Preventive Cardiology (ASPC). He was honored with the Johns Hopkins Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2013, which acknowledges alumni who have typified Johns Hopkins tradition of excellence and brought credit to the University by their personal accomplishments, professional achievements, or humanitarian service Dr. Nasir has over 500 peer-reviewed articles that are published in top journals such as Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, Archives of Internal Medicine, Circulation, Journal of American College of Cardiology, and European Heart Journal. Dr. Nasir has lectured extensively throughout the world on coronary atherosclerosis, cardiac imaging, and prevention. Dr. Nasir’s area of expertise in preventive cardiology involves the identification of high-risk individuals — those likely to have a heart attack or stroke. His research helps to identify the at-risk population so that treatments may be targeted to them.
Arti Thangudu, MD
Physician, Founder & Triple board-certified physician and endocrinology, diabetes, and thyroid specialist
NewswiseDiabetes,Endocrinology,lifestyle medicine
Arti Thangudu, MD, is a triple board-certified physician and endocrinology, diabetes, and thyroid specialist who provides high-level, well-rounded care at Complete Medicine in San Antonio, Texas. She takes an evidence-based approach to care, focusing on the whole patient, not their disease or symptoms. At her membership-based practice, Dr. Thangudu offers her patients direct access, frequent coaching, and continuous blood glucose monitoring. After earning her Bachelor of Science in Journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, Dr. Thangudu received her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. She completed a rigorous internship in internal medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, where she treated thousands of the sickest patients in public, private, and Veteran’s Administration hospitals and clinics throughout Houston, Texas. She then relocated to New Orleans, Louisiana, to complete her internal medicine residency at Tulane University. Dr. Thangudu moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to complete her fellowship in endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, one of the busiest endocrinology training centers in the country. During her fellowship, she saw thousands of complex and rare cases in and out of the hospital and participated in research and quality improvement projects to improve care for people with diabetes. After her training, she moved on to work at one of the largest endocrinology groups in the country, where her passion grew and pushed her to pursue nutritional training at Cornell University’s Center for Nutrition Studies. Dr. Thangudu holds board certification in internal and lifestyle medicine, as well as endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism. She’s also certified in plant-based nutrition.
S. Louis Bridges Jr, MD, PhD
Physician-in-Chief and Chair of the Department of Medicine - Chief of the Division of Rheumatology
Hospital for Special SurgeryAutoantibodies,Autoimmune Diseases,Machine Learning,Rheumatic Diseases,Rheumatoid Arthritis,Rheumatology
Dr. Bridges is Physician-in-Chief and Chair of the Department of Medicine at Hospital for Special Surgery, as well as Chief of the Division of Rheumatology at both HSS and NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. He is the Franchellie M. Cadwell Professor of Medicine at HSS and the Joseph P. Routh Professor of Rheumatic Diseases in Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Bridges leads 75 full-time physicians, including 38 adult and 5 pediatric rheumatologists. They collectively provide outstanding care to patients across the full spectrum of autoimmune and inflammatory rheumatic diseases and deliver perioperative medical care to patients undergoing surgical procedures at HSS. Dr. Bridges’ academic and research career has centered on understanding the cellular, molecular, and genetic molecular mechanisms that underlie rheumatoid arthritis, its clinical manifestations, and response to treatment. In particular, he has focused on the role of B lymphocytes and autoantibodies in RA, as well as genetic influences on RA in African Americans. He and his colleagues have defined genetic differences in the MHC and non-MHC genes on susceptibility to RA and on the degree of joint damage between African Americans with RA compared to European and Asian ancestries. More recently, his research program has involved crowdsourcing to facilitate machine learning and big data approaches to answer important clinical questions in RA. In addition to his leadership roles at HSS and NYPH/WCMC, Dr. Bridges is President of the Rheumatology Research Foundation and has a concurrent role as a member of the American College of Rheumatology Executive Committee.
Mary Crow, MD
Physician-in-Chief Emerita; Director, Autoimmunity and Inflammation Research Program
Hospital for Special SurgeryAutoimmune Diseases,immune system activation ,Lupus,Rheumatoid Arthritis,Rheumatology,Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)
Dr. Mary Crow, a rheumatologist, is physician-in-chief emerita at Hospital for Special Surgery and a professor of Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology of the Department of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. She is also director of the Autoimmunity and Inflammation Research Program at HSS and co-director of the Mary Kirkland Center for Lupus Research at the HSS Research Institute. Dr. Crow holds the Benjamin M. Rosen Chair in Immunology and Inflammation Research at HSS. She led the HSS Department of Medicine and the Division of Rheumatology in the Department of Medicine at Weill Cornell from 2010 to 2020. Dr. Crow’s academic and research career has focused on unraveling the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie the systemic autoimmune diseases, with a particular focus on systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. She has identified interferon-alpha, an immune system protein typically expressed in the setting of virus infection, as a key pathogenic mediator in lupus. Her laboratory continues to study the triggers of immune system activation in SLE, the molecular pathways associated with the clinical manifestations of lupus, and the mechanisms that result in disease flares. Dr. Crow’s research has identified therapeutic targets, providing the rationale for the development of novel therapeutic agents for patients with SLE. In addition to her leadership roles at HSS and WCMC/NYPH, Dr. Crow has served as president of the American College of Rheumatology, as president of the Henry Kunkel Society, and as chair or co-chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Alliance for Lupus Research and the Lupus Research Alliance from 2008 to 2019. She has been honored as an “Arthritis Hero” of the Arthritis Foundation, and in 2010 she received the Margaret D. Smith Lifetime Achievement Award of the Arthritis Foundation, New York Chapter. In 2018 she received the Presidential Gold Medal of the American College of Rheumatology, and in 2019 she was honored as a Notable Woman in Healthcare by Crain’s New York Business.
Antiphospholipid Syndrome,Internal Medicine,Rheumatoid Arthritis,Rheumatology,Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Dr. Jane Salmon is the Collette Kean Research Professor at Hospital for Special Surgery. She is Professor of Medicine and Professor of Medicine in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Associate Dean, Faculty Affairs at Weill Cornell College of Medicine. Dr. Salmon’s research has focused on elucidating mechanisms of tissue injury in lupus and other autoimmune diseases. Her basic, translational and clinical studies have led to a paradigm shift in the understanding of mechanisms of pregnancy loss, cardiovascular disease and end-organ damage in patients with lupus. She identified the critical role of inflammation as a mediator of placental insufficiency and defined new treatment targets. Dr. Salmon graduated magna cum laude from New York University and earned a medical degree in 1978 from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, where she was the first woman enrolled in their Medical Scientist Training Program. She completed training in internal medicine at The New York Hospital and in rheumatology at Hospital for Special Surgery, where she currently conducts clinical and basic research studies and practices rheumatology. Dr. Salmon has served on the Board of Directors of the American College of Rheumatology and Rheumatology Research Foundation. Dr. Salmon was co-editor of Arthritis and Rheumatism and is currently an Associate Editor of Annals of Rheumatic Diseases. At Hospital for Special Surgery, she is a Director of the Lupus and APS Center of Excellence, Co-Director of the Mary Kirkland Center for Lupus Research.
Antiphospholipid Antibodies ,Rheumatology,Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Dr. Lisa Sammaritano joined Hospital for Special Surgery in 1988, when she began her fellowship in rheumatic diseases. She maintains a busy clinical practice and participates in clinical research geared towards patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and Antiphospholipid Antibodies. She has a particular interest and expertise in reproductive issues in rheumatic disease patients, including contraception and pregnancy.
pediatric rheumatology
Chief of Pediatric Rheumatology at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), Karen Onel, MD, cares for children and teens with arthritis and other autoimmune disorders. In particular, she diagnoses and treats: lupus, juvenile arthritis, vasculitis, uveitis (an inflammatory disorder of the eye), chronic non-infectious osteomyelitis, dermatomyositis and the periodic fever syndromes. Her goal is to work with the patient and his/her family to create a long-term care plan that will lead to improved quality of life. Dr. Onel's research focuses on gaining a greater understanding of the causes of rheumatic illnesses, as well as evaluating the safety and tolerability of new treatments. She is collaborating with other institutions to define evidence-based best treatment practices for children with JIA, SLE, and recurrent non-infectious osteomyelitis. Dr. Onel has authored numerous papers, reviews, and book chapters on pediatric rheumatology. In addition, she serves as a reviewer for several scientific journals, including Arthritis and Rheumatism, Lupus, Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism, and Pediatric Rheumatology. Pediatrics, Rheumatology
Biotechnology,Cancer,Coronavirus,covid 19,Genetics,Microbiology
Joshua LaBaer is renowned for his work in proteomics and developing biomarker diagnostics. He leads ASU's COVID-19 research efforts. As executive director of the Biodesign Institute, his work emphasizes that multidisciplinary factors culminate to disease, suggesting personalized therapies and unique biomarker analysis. His team uses arrays to assess how programmable a protein is. This work also spans into epigenetics, and the capacity to modulate the activity of these proteins. LaBaer was the founder and director of Harvard's Institute of Proteomics and a chairman of the Virginia G. Piper Center for Personalized Diagnostics. He is an associate editor of the Journal of Proteome Research, a member of the National Cancer Institute's Board of Scientific Advisors, chair of the Early Detection Research Network Steering Committee and recent president of the U.S. Human Proteome Organization.
Ecology,insect communication
My research focuses on the mechanisms that create organization in social insect colonies. My study subject is the honey bee, one of the most important insects on the planet. Not only do honey bees add enormous value to the crops that we produce through their pollination services, but they also serve as an important model organism for understanding how genetic and environmental influences can act on individuals to produce group-level phenomena. Currently, my research examines ways that honey bees use communication to organize their group activities. Through field work and genetic studies, I have explored how and why genetic diversity within a honey bee colony—created naturally when queens mate with many males—enhances the productivity of a colony’s foraging effort. Part of the answer lies in a more extensive use of the sophisticated waggle-dance signals that honey bees use to direct nest mates to food resources. Another recent line of research investigates how a honey bee queen produces pheromones to organize a swarm of thousands of bees as her colony reproduces by fission. At Wellesley College, I teach three biology courses, two of which include a lab: Organismal Biology and Animal Behavior. Students in these biology courses get a chance to think about the common themes that are embedded in the spectacular ways that organisms have adapted to survive and reproduce on this planet. By getting up close and personal with live organisms, the lab component of these courses gives students hands-on experience with scientific discovery. I also teach a seminar on social insect biology that gives students an opportunity to marvel at the remarkable feats of engineering and biological organization that these little creatures generate. In this seminar, we learn to truly appreciate the small things in life. My fondness for animals and my interest in their often strange strategies for success fuels the pleasure that I get from teaching these classes. Because my research addresses both basic and applied aspects of honey bee biology, I spend a good deal of time throughout the year traveling to speak at scientific conferences (such as the International Society for Behavioral Ecology and the IS for the Study of Social Insects), but I also speak often to beekeeper associations about how their practices affect the productivity of their colonies. Discussing my research with beekeepers is important because honey bee health ultimately impacts the safety of our food supply. Because my research relies heavily on observing honey bees in the field, I spend most of my summer at Wellesley College working with student researchers on new studies.
Geoffrey Westrich, MD
Orthopedic Surgeon, Professor of Clinical Orthopedic Surgery
Hospital for Special Surgerycementless knee replacement,dual mobility hip implant,Hip Replacement,Joint Replacement Surgery,Knee Replacement,Orthopedic Surgery,revision knee replacement
Dr. Westrich is director of research emeritus in the Adult Reconstruction and Joint Replacement Service at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City, where he sees patients. The Hospital is consistently ranked the #1 hospital for orthopedics nationwide by U.S. News & World Report. Dr. Westrich specializes in diagnosing and treating complex injuries and diseases of the hip and knee in adults of all ages, including revision hip and knee replacement. He has published hundreds of research papers and continues to conduct studies to advance the field. His areas of special expertise include robotic-assisted hip and knee replacement; dual mobility hip replacement; complex revision hip and knee replacement; minimally invasive hip and knee replacement; the cementless knee replacement; and multimodal analgesia to control pain and reduce the need for opioid medication. He is considered a leading expert in preventing blood clots after joint replacement surgery. At HSS, Dr. Westrich is co-chair of the Infection Control Committee, co-chair of the Complex Case Review Panel and co-chair of the Thromboembolic Disease Committee. He served as president of the Eastern Orthopedic Association in 2015. With an undergraduate degree in engineering, he has worked with medical device companies to design new and improved joint replacements and surgical instrumentation.
Paul A. Offit, MD
Director of the Vaccine Education Center - Attending physician - Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP)
Children's Hospital of PhiladelphiaInfectious Diseases,Physician,Vaccine
Paul A. Offit, MD, is Director of the Vaccine Education Center and professor of pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He is the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Offit is an internationally recognized expert in the fields of virology and immunology and was a member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He is a founding advisory board member of the Autism Science Foundation and the Foundation for Vaccine Research, a member of the Institute of Medicine, and co-editor of the foremost vaccine text, Vaccines. He is a recipient of many awards including the J. Edmund Bradley Prize for Excellence in Pediatrics from the University of Maryland Medical School, the Young Investigator Award in Vaccine Development from the Infectious Disease Society of America, a Research Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health, and the Sabin Vaccine Institute Gold Medal. Dr. Offit has published more than 150 papers in medical and scientific journals in the areas of rotavirus-specific immune responses and vaccine safety. He is also the co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine, RotaTeq®, recommended for universal use in infants by the CDC. For this achievement, Dr. Offit received the Luigi Mastroianni and William Osler Awards from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, the Charles Mérieux Award from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, and was honored by Bill and Melinda Gates during the launch of their Foundation’s Living Proof Project for global health. In 2009, Dr. Offit received the President’s Certificate for Outstanding Service from the American Academy of Pediatrics. In 2011, he received the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the Biologics Industry Organization (BIO), the David E. Rogers Award from the American Association of Medical Colleges, the Odyssey Award from the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, and was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. In 2012, Dr. Offit received the Distinguished Medical Achievement Award from the College of Physicians of Philadelphia and the Drexel Medicine Prize in Translational Medicine from the Drexel University College of Medicine. In 2013, he received the Maxwell Finland award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, the Distinguished Alumnus award from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and the Innovators in Health Award from the Group Health Foundation. In 2014, he was elected to the board of trustees at the College of Physicians in Philadelphia, and in 2015, he was elected to the American Association of Physicians and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as well as being named as a Fellow for the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society and the American Academy for the Advancement of Science. In 2016, Dr. Offit received the Franklin Founder Award by the City of Philadelphia, The Porter Prize from the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, and the Jonathan E. Rhoads Medal for Distinguished Service to Medicine from The American Philosophical Society. In 2017, he received the Defensor Scientiae Award and an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. In 2018, he was named to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
Julia Shaklee Sammons, MD, MSCE
Hospital epidemiologist and Medical Director of the Department of Infection Prevention and Control
Children's Hospital of PhiladelphiaInfectious Diseases,Pediatrics
Julia Shaklee Sammons, MD, MSCE, is the Hospital epidemiologist and Medical Director of the Department of Infection Prevention and Control at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Areas of Expertise: Prevention of healthcare-associated infections, Epidemiology of pediatric C. difficile infection, Change management and implementation of quality improvement initiatives Medical School MD - Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Internship Pediatrics - The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA Residency Pediatrics - The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA Fellowship Pediatric Infectious Diseases - The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA Board Certification Pediatric Infectious Diseases Pediatrics Graduate Degree Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology (MSCE) - University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
James Melville, DDS
Oral Surgeon, Associate Professor
University of Texas Health Science Center at HoustonDental Health,oral surgery,UTHealth School of Dentistry
David C. Evers, PhD
Executive Director, Chief Scientist and Co-Director Center for Mercury Studies
Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI)Ecology,environmenntal science,Wildlife
From the moment he captured his first loon on Michigan’s Seney National Wildlife Refuge, David Evers has been a champion of wildlife, incorporating innovative approaches to traditional research methods. As the founder, executive director, and chief scientist of BRI, Dr. Evers has made great strides in bringing critical ecological issues to the forefront of our nation’s and the world’s consciousness. He regularly develops collaborations and working groups, often working at regional and international scales with scientists, federal and state governmental agencies, universities and research institutes, as well as other nonprofit organizations. Dr. Evers specializes in research on ecotoxicology with an emphasis on the patterns of methylmercury and oil exposure and effects in wildlife, especially birds such as the Common Loon. Current projects include research and conservation efforts with various loon species across North America as well as assessments of mercury in fish and wildlife across Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America. Through BRI’s Center for Waterbird Studies, Dr. Evers oversees the largest conservation project on the Common Loon in partnership with the Ricketts Conservation Foundation. Through BRI’s Center for Mercury Studies, he oversees several ongoing national and international mercury monitoring networks and database summary efforts, including new projects and partnerships with the Fate and Transport Partnership Group of the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the International Council on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. During his graduate studies, Dr. Evers worked as a field ornithologist for the Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas and as a wildlife ecologist for the Kalamazoo Nature Center. In 1991, he became executive director of the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory. In 1998, he founded BRI to further progressive wildlife research and conservation. He also holds positions as adjunct professor at both the University of Southern Maine, where he teaches ornithology, and the University of Maine at Orono. He is also the adjunct senior scientist at the University of Southern Maine's Center for Integrated and Applied Environmental technology. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and presented his research in more than 200 professional venues. Education: Ph.D., Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, 2001 M.S., Ecology, Western Michigan University, 1992 B.S., Wildlife Management, Michigan State University, 1984
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