Chief, Infectious Disease Service
Member, Department of Medicine
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, NY, United States
As the Chief of the Infectious Disease Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, I conduct laboratory research on human fungal pathogens, in particular Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans, and Cryptococcus neoformans. Invasive fungal infections by these pathogens represent a significant cause of infectious morbidity and mortality in immune compromised patients, in particular patients with leukemia, lymphoma, and in bone marrow transplant recipients.
A focus of investigation centers on the role of endogenous fungal communities in the gut on infectious outcomes during allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) in human patients. We established high-throughput amplicon-based and whole-genome sequencing and bioinformatic analyses to characterize the composition and diversity of intestinal fungi in human samples. Our findings indicate that stochastic intestinal translocation of gut-resident fungi into the human bloodstream causes invasive mycoses in allo-HCT patients. The intestinal fungal repertoire is shaped by receipt of antibiotics and cross-kingdom interactions with gut-resident bacteria. We are exploring the rules of this ecologic niche in humans and mouse models, with an emphasis on understanding the molecular mechanism that enable establishment of invasive fungal disease.
Since founding my laboratory in 2009, I have mentored/am mentoring 17 post-doctoral and clinical fellows, 6 graduate and medical students, and 6 undergraduate students. My trainees have successfully applied for extramural support, including an award from the Life Science Research, Stony Wold Herbert, and Ludwig Foundations, and from the NIH (K08 and F31 awards). Four women trainees have secured tenure-track faculty positions (Cynthia Fischer, MD, Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA; Lena Heung, MD, PhD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA; Neta Shlezinger, PhD, Hebrew University, Rehovot, Israel; Bing Zhai, PhD, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China).
Complete List of Published Work in MyBibliography: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/1V5yGApyee_Qn/bibliography/public/
Education:
Duke University, Durham, NC. B.S. 05/1993 Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, New York, NY. Ph.D. 08/2000 Biochemistry
Weill Cornell Medical College, NY, NY. M.D. 05/2001 Medicine
New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical Center, NY, NY. Residency 06/2003 Medicine
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, NY, NY. Clinical Fellowship 06/2007 Infectious Diseases
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, NY, NY. Research Fellowship 04/2009 Infectious Diseases
Positions:
2022-current Member, Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, MSKCC.
2022-current Institutional Associate Director, Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program.
2021-current Professor, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College.
2020-current Member, Department of Medicine, MSKCC.
2015-current Chief, Infectious Disease Service, MSKCC.
2016-2021 Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College.
2015-2020 Associate Member, Department of Medicine, MSKCC.
2014-current Faculty Member, Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis Program, Weill Cornell Medicine Graduate School of Medical Sciences.
2014-current Faculty Member, Gerstner Sloan Kettering Graduate School of Medical Sciences, MSKCC.
2014-current Joint Appointee, Immunology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, MSKCC.
2014-2016 Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College.
2013-2015 Assistant Member, Department of Medicine, MSKCC.
2009-2013 Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, University of Washington.
2009-2013 Assistant Member, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
2007-2009 Assistant Attending Physician, Infectious Diseases Service, MSKCC.
2007-2009 Instructor, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College.
Honors
2021 NIH Merit Award Nomination.
2021 Member, American Academy of Microbiology.
2019 Fellow, European Federation of Medical Mycology.
2016 Member, American Society of Clinical Investigation.
2014 Investigator in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Diseases Award, Burroughs Wellcome Fund.
2012 Fellow, Infectious Disease Society of America.
2009 Young Investigator Award, American Society of Microbiology.
2008 Basic Science Research Award, 2nd Infections in Cancer Symposium, Houston, TX.
2005 New York Infectious Diseases Society Fellows’ Basic Science Research Award.
2005 Basic Science Research Award, 1st Infections in Cancer Symposium, Houston, TX.
1999 Julian R. Rachele Award of Excellence, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences.
1993 Phi Beta Kappa, Duke University.
Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
1:30 PM – 3:15 PM US PT
2 - The role of the mycobiome in hematopoietic cell transplantation outcomes
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
2:05 PM – 2:40 PM US PT