Recruiting is currently on hold:
Our previous committee is described below
Tim Mosmann is the Director in the David H. Smith Center for Vaccine Biology and Immunology, and Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Center for Vaccine Biology and Immunology, in the School of Medicine and Dentistry. He will serve as the Chair of the committee to represent all constituents.
Dr. Mosmann received B.S. degrees in Chemistry and Physiology from the University of Natal, and a B.S. (honors) in Microbiology from Rhodes University in South Africa. He subsequently emigrated to Canada and obtained his Ph.D. in Microbiology at the University of British Columbia. Research fellowships at the University of Toronto and University of Glasgow were followed by his appointment as an Assistant Professor at the University of Alberta. He then spent 8 years in industry, as a Research Scientist at DNAX Research Institute in Palo Alto, California. In 1990 he rejoined the University of Alberta as Chair of the Department of Immunology. In 1998, he was recruited to the University of Rochester as the founding Director of the new Center for Vaccine Biology and Immunology.
Adrienne Morgan is Senior Associate Dean for Equity and Inclusion, and Associate Professor - Department of Medical Humanities and Bioethics. Adrienne will support our committee as a Diversity Advocate.
Dr. Morgan is vice president for Equity and Inclusion at the University of Rochester Medical Center, senior associate dean for Equity and Inclusion, an associate professor in the Department of Medical Humanities and Bioethics at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, and an adjunct professor at the Warner School of Education. Dr. Morgan is also one of the chief architects of the Medical Center’s Equity & Anti-Racism Action Plan. She will support our committee as a Diversity Advocate. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a graduate certificate in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University, her master’s degree in Marketing, Human Resources, and Health Systems Administration from the Rochester Institute of Technology, and her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Thought Policy from the University of Rochester. Dr. Morgan is a resource to URMC residents, fellows, and faculty, to help identify and address challenges to recruiting and retaining under-represented groups to URMC’s residency and fellowship programs.
Angela Branche is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases. She will help to represent the interests of Infectious Diseases as well as the Translational Immunology and Infectious Diseases Institute (TIIDI), for which she is Co-Director.
Dr. Branche received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology at the University of Pennsylvania and Doctorate in Medicine at American University of the Caribbean. She completed residency in Internal Medicine at NYU Lutheran in Brooklyn, NY and infectious disease fellowship at the University of Rochester. She currently has a clinical inpatient practice comprised of both general infectious diseases and HIV medicine patients. Dr. Branche is also a New York State designated HIV/AIDS provider and has a practice comprised of adult patients ages 18 and older at the URMC HIV Clinic. The focus of Dr. Branche’s research has been clinical and translational research in the field of respiratory viral and bacterial infections in adults.
Marty Pavelka is a Professor of Microbiology and Immunology. He will represent the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.
Dr. Pavelka obtained his B.S. in Biology from Cleveland State University and came to the University of Rochester for graduate school obtaining his Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology in 1994. He then joined the laboratory of William J. Jacobs at the Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx where he worked on genetic tool development in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, TB vaccines, and mycobacterial cell wall biosynthesis. He was recruited back to the UR where he started as a faculty member in 1999. He has been the director of the UR Biosafety Level Three facility since that time, and the Chair of the Institutional Biosafety Committee since 2007. His lab studies bacterial cell envelope biosynthesis, antibiotic resistance, mycobacterial pathogenesis, and biodefense.
Jennifer Nayak is Chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and, Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases. She will represent the interests of Pediatric Infectious Diseases.
Dr. Nayak obtained her MD in Medicine from State University of New York at Buffalo, completing her Residency in 2007 and Fellowship in 2010, at the University of Rochester, where she then joined the Department of Pediatrics. She is a pediatric infectious disease specialist with a research interest in understanding how early childhood infections and vaccinations impact the development of long-term anti-influenza immunologic memory and establish immunologic imprinting. In addition, she is involved in clinical trials evaluating pediatric vaccines for various diseases, including COVID-19 and RSV, as well as studies aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of COVID-19 therapeutics in the pediatric population.
Minsoo Kim is a Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Center for Vaccine Biology and Immunology. He will represent the interests of Vaccine, Biology and Immunology.
Dr. Minsoo Kim is Dean's Professor of Microbiology and Immunology and Director of the Tumor Immunotherapy Research Program at the Wilmot Cancer Institute, and a member of the David H. Smith Center for Vaccine Biology and Immunology. His research interests are in the area of innate and adaptive immune responses and cancer immunotherapy. He is especially noted for his pioneering contributions to the developments of the most advanced imaging techniques that enable real-time observation and control of dynamic immune responses both in live cells and live animal models.
Stefanie Fingler
Stefanie Fingler currently serves as the Senior Administrator/Research Program Manager directing and coordinating the Center for Vaccine Biology and Immunology (CVBI), as well as several large subdivisions/projects associated with the CVBI, at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC). Stefanie joined the University of Rochester in 2008 and has worked in both accounting and research administration over the last 13+ years. She has extensive experience in sponsored research administration (pre and post award), overseeing research operations, and a deep knowledge of contract application accounting, and good understanding of federal, state, and institutional regulations. Stefanie is strongly committed to helping grow and lead initiatives at the University of Rochester.