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Biographical Sketches of NIAID Council Members

NIAID welcomes our new Council members for 2013: Maria Laura Acebal, Norman W. Baylor, Robert B. Belshe, and Diane E. Griffin.

Senior Staff

  • Chairperson: Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director, NIAID, NIH, DHHS
  • Executive secretary: Matthew J. Fenton, Ph.D., director, DEA, NIAID, NIH, DHHS
  • Ex officio members:
    • Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., director, NIH, DHHS
    • Other ex officio members are listed beneath their subcommittee.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (DAIDS) Subcommittee

Photo Name, Biosketch, and Date Term Ends
Photo of Adaora Adimora, M.D.

Adaora Adimora, M.D., is professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a physician-epidemiologist with specialty training and extensive clinical experience in infectious diseases with a focus on HIV. Dr. Adimora published the first national data on concurrent partnerships in U.S. women in the National Survey of Family Growth and a conceptual analysis of contextual factors that promote concurrent sexual partnerships among African Americans. (October 31, 2015)

Photo of Connie Celum.

Connie Celum, M.D., M.P.H., is professor of global health and medicine at the University of Washington and director of the International Clinical Research Center in the Department of Global Health. Her research focuses on clinical trials of biomedical HIV prevention and combination HIV prevention strategies with the objective to find effective strategies to reduce HIV acquisition and transmission. Dr. Celum's recently completed HIV prevention trials include genital herpes suppression to reduce HIV transmission and disease progression. She is a member of the executive committee of the NIH-funded Microbicides Trials Network. (October 31, 2013)

Photo of Dázon Dixon Diallo, M.P.H.

Dázon Dixon Diallo, M.P.H., is president and CEO of SisterLove, Inc. and adjunct faculty in public health at Morehouse School of Medicine. She is a founding board member of SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective. Ms. Diallo chairs the Fulton County HIV/AIDS Services Planning Council (Ryan White Council) and the steering committee of the Global Campaign for Microbicides. She is also a founding member and co-chair of the Community Advisory Board of Emory University’s HOPE Clinic. Ms. Diallo developed a seminal behavioral prevention intervention, part of the CDC’s National Compendium of Evidenced-Based HIV Prevention Interventions. (October 31, 2014)

Photo of Jonathan Karn, Ph.D. Jonathan Karn, Ph.D., is Reinberger Professor of Molecular Biology and chair of the Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and director of the Case Center for AIDS Research. Dr. Karn is an expert on HIV molecular biology and is recognized for his studies of HIV transcription and latency. He is well-known for his discovery that the HIV regulatory proteins Tat and Rev are RNA-binding proteins. He served as chair of the NIH AIDS Cell and Molecular Biology Study Section. (October 31, 2015)
Photo of Georgia D. Tomaras, Ph.D.

Georgia D. Tomaras, Ph.D., is associate professor of surgery, immunology, and molecular genetics and microbiology at Duke University Medical Center as well as a faculty member of its Center for Virology and the Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Program. She is also associate director of research and director of the Training and Mentoring Program at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute. The goal of her research program is to understand the cellular and humoral immune responses to HIV-1 infection and vaccination that are involved in protection from HIV-1. Her laboratory focuses on the induction and ontogeny of systemic and mucosal antibody responses and antiviral CD8+ T cell responses. (October 31, 2015)

Photo of Jerome A. Zack, Ph.D.

Jerome A. Zack, Ph.D., is professor, Department of Medicine and Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is also the director of the UCLA Center for AIDS Research (CFAR). Dr. Zack is best known for his innovative work on how the AIDS virus replicates and causes disease and developing new therapeutic approaches for eradicating the AIDS virus. His work has also shown that the AIDS virus can inhibit the function of hematopoietic stem cells, and he is studying the potential of human embryonic stem cells for hematopoietic gene therapy. (October 31, 2014)

  Ex officio member:
  • Victoria Davey, Ph.D., M.P.H., chief, Office of Public Health and Environmental Hazards, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Allergy and Immunology (DAIT) Subcommittee

Photo Name, Biosketch, and Date Term Ends
Photo of Maria Laura Acebal, J.D. Maria Laura Acebal, J.D., is the former CEO of the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN). She joined FAAN in 2009 and brought with her the nonprofit she founded, Safe@School Partners. Before working in the area of food allergies, Maria worked at the global consulting firm McKinsey & Company and practiced law at Williams & Connolly. (October 31, 2016)
Photo of Nelson Chao. Nelson J. Chao, M.D., M.B.A., is professor of medicine and immunology and chief of the Division of Cellular Therapy at Duke University. He is also associate director for clinical studies at the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center and serves as PI of the Duke Center for Countermeasures Against Radiation. Dr. Chao is trained as a hematologist-oncologist and has focused his research on hematopoietic cell transplantation, graft-versus-host disease, and immune reconstitution in murine models and in patients. Dr. Chao has served on several national committees, as a member of the Board of Scientific Counselors of NHLBI, and on an NIH study section. He is also the co-chair of the Radiation Injury Treatment Network. (October 31, 2013)
Photo of Michael J. Holtzman, M.D.

Michael J. Holtzman, M.D., is the Seldin Professor of Medicine, professor of cell biology, and director of pulmonary and critical care medicine at Washington University School of Medicine. His research group studies infectious and inflammatory lung disease and uses a variety of scientific approaches to define pathogenesis and discover new drugs to address this problem. Dr. Holtzman’s research group also focuses on the connection between respiratory viral infection and the development of chronic obstructive lung diseases, such as asthma and COPD. He has served as editor in chief and editorial board member for scientific journals and as an NIH study section member. (October 31, 2014)

Photo of Norma Sue Kenyon, Ph.D.

Norma Sue Kenyon, Ph.D., is Martin Kleiman Professor of Surgery, Microbiology and Immunology, and Biomedical Engineering at the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami. She is also executive director of the Wallace H. Coulter Center for Translational Research and senior associate dean for Translational Science. She and her team are focused on biological replacement therapies for patients with type 1 diabetes, including novel approaches for enhancement of islet engraftment and long-term function, cotransplantation of bone marrow derived stem cells with insulin producing cells, and identification of biomarkers for rejection and recurrent autoimmunity. (October 31, 2014)

Photo of Velma P. Scantlebury, M.D. Velma P. Scantlebury, M.D., is associate director, Division of Transplantation at the Christiana Care Transplant Center. Her research interests focus on outcomes of organ donation and transplantation in African Americans, minority access to transplantation, and promoting the need for living donor transplantation through education. She is a member of numerous professional societies, including the American Society of Transplantation, the American College of Surgeons, the Society of Black Academic Surgeons, and the American Society of Minority Health and Transplant Professionals. (October 31, 2014)
Photo of Jenny Ting, Ph.D.

Jenny Ting, Ph.D., is William Rand Kenan Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, co-director of the Southeastern Regional Center of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infections, and program leader for immunology at Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has served on editorial boards and as reviewer for many journals. Dr. Ting has been on advisory committees for Burroughs Wellcome, Duke University, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and NIH's NIAMS. Her research covers inflammation, oxidative stress, signal transduction, gene discovery and regulation, functional genomics and proteomics, molecular immunology, and cancer. (October 31, 2013)

Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (DMID) Subcommittee

Photo Name, Biosketch, and Date Term Ends
Photo of Mavis Agbandje-McKenna, Ph.D.

Mavis Agbandje-McKenna, Ph.D., is professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and director of the Center for Structural Biology in the College of Medicine at the University of Florida. Her laboratory uses structural biology and biophysical tools combined with biochemistry and molecular biology to study single-stranded DNA viruses. The goal of her research is to obtain a fundamental understanding of the virus and host determinants of tissue tropism, host adaptation, host pathogenicity, and virus-host immune system interactions. (October 31, 2015)

Photo of Norman W. Baylor, Ph.D.

Norman W. Baylor, Ph.D., is president and CEO of Biologics Consulting Group, Inc. Previously, Dr. Baylor was the director of the Office of Vaccines Research and Review in the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. He evaluated and facilitated the development and licensure of numerous vaccines. Dr. Baylor served as FDA’s liaison to CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Vaccine Advisory Committee, and the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines. He also served as an expert advisor to the World Health Organization on several global vaccine initiatives. (October 31, 2016)

Photo of Robert B. Belshe, M.D. Robert B. Belshe, M.D., is professor of medicine, pediatrics, and molecular microbiology and director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Saint Louis University. He is principal investigator of the NIH-funded Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit at the University. Dr. Belshe is an expert in clinical trials design and execution, and his laboratory focuses on antibody responses to viral vaccines, particularly influenza. He conducted the vaccinia dilution studies for the NIH biodefense initiative and chaired the NIH/industry cooperative phase III pivotal licensing studies on live attenuated influenza vaccine and the NIH and GlaxoSmithKline Herpevac Trial for Women. (October 31, 2016)
Photo of Enriqueta Bond, Ph.D. Enriqueta Bond, Ph.D., is a founding partner of QE Philanthropic Advisors and consults with philanthropic and nonprofit organizations on program development and governance. Previously, Dr. Bond was president of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. She served as chair of the Institute of Medicine Clinical Research Roundtable and was a Council member of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. She serves on numerous boards and advisory groups including the Scientific Advisory Committee on Stewardship for Research on Infectious Diseases of Poverty at WHO’s Program for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases. (October 31, 2015)
Photo of Diane E. Griffin, M.D., Ph.D. Diane E. Griffin, M.D., Ph.D., is university distinguished service professor and Alfred and Jill Sommer Chair of the W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Griffin’s research interests focus on the pathogenesis of viral diseases, particularly measles and alphavirus encephalitis. Her studies address issues related to virulence and the role of immune responses in protection from infection and clearance of infection. Dr. Griffin is U.S. chair of the Viral Diseases Panel of the U.S.-Japan Cooperative Medical Sciences Program and a member of the Councils for the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine. (October 31, 2016)
Photo of George Siber.

George Siber, M.D., is executive chairman of Genocea Biosciences and director of Selecta Biosciences in Boston. Dr. Siber also serves as professor of medicine and special advisor, Massachusetts Biologic Laboratories at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, as well as adjunct professor of medicine in the Department of International Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health at The Johns Hopkins University. Previously, Dr. Siber was executive vice president and chief scientific officer of Wyeth Vaccines Research, overseeing the development and approval of six vaccines including Prevenar, the first pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. (October 31, 2013)

  Ex officio members:
  • Brigadier General Joseph Caravalho, Jr., M.D., commander, Fort Detrick and U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command
  • Bruce G. Gellin, M.D., M.P.H., director, National Vaccine Program Office, Office of Public Health and Science, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, DHHS
  • Colonel Kent E. Kester, M.D., associate dean for clinical research, School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
  • Rima Khabbaz, M.D., deputy director for infectious diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

For more information, see the Advisory Council portal.

Last Updated February 14, 2012

Last Reviewed December 07, 2012