Beckman Symposium 2009 - Global Health & Emerging Infectious Diseases

Joseph DeRisi is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco. He currently holds the Gordon Tomkins Chair of Biochemistry and Biophysics at UCSF. Dr. DeRisi has made major contributions to malaria research. He uses DNA microarray technology to study the activity of the full range of malaria genes. His analysis of gene expression in Plasmodium falciparum has revealed that an unusually high percentage of genes are expressed in a highly periodic fashion during the parasite's life cycle. This finding has revealed a vulnerable point where drugs and vaccines could be especially effective, and he has begun screening new antimalarial compounds. Dr. DeRisi and colleagues have also created a ''virus chip" - a comprehensive array of DNA sequences that characterize each viral family. The chip is being used for rapid detection of viruses and discovery of unknown viruses.

Stanley Falkow is the Robert W. and Vivian K. Cahill Professor in Cancer Research and Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Over the course of his career he made discoveries of singular importance to the field of microbiology. In 1961, he and the late Julius Marmur discovered genetic elements in bacterial cells that remained distinct from the chromosome - elements now known as plasmids. He subsequently found that antibiotic resistance genes could migrate from one microorganism to another in the form of transposable genetic elements, or transposons, that can hop from plasmid to plasmid or from plasmid to chromosome. These discoveries, along with many others, laid the groundwork for understanding the genetic and molecular mechanisms by which bacterial agents cause infection and disease. In recognition of his many research contributions, Dr. Falkow was awarded the 2008 Lasker Award for Special Achievement in Medical Science.

Maria Freire is President of the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation and a leader in the field of global public health. She has made significant contributions to drug development for neglected diseases, public health policy, and technology transfer and intellectual property as they relate to medicine and basic science. An internationally recognized expert in technology commercialization, Dr. Freire directed the Office of Technology Transfer at the National Institutes of Health where she developed and implemented technology transfer policies for the Department of Health and Human Services and directed patenting and licensing activities for both NIH and the Food and Drug Administration. During her tenure she won numerous awards for her contributions in promoting global public health. Prior to joining the Lasker Foundation as its President, Dr. Freire was the President and CEO of the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development where she spearheaded a pioneering effort to expand and accelerate the development of new drugs with which to more effectively treat tuberculosis. In addition to her work at the Foundation, Dr. Freire is a member of the Institute of Medicine and serves on numerous national and international boards and committees.

Thomas Quinn is Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Quinn's research involves the investigation of the epidemiology, pathogenesis, and clinical features of HIV/AIDS internationally. The list of his research topics include the study of interactions between STOs and tropical diseases on the natural history and spread of HIV/AIDS in developing countries; an examination of the viral kinetics and transmission probabilities of HIV among discordant couples; molecular studies mapping the molecular epidemic of HIV on a global basis; and implementation of clinical care programs for HN, STOs, and other infectious diseases. He currently directs several field-based programs in Africa and Asia, utilizing community-based STD treatment linked with HIV prevention projects, and is a founding member of the Academic Alliance for AIDS Care and Prevention in Africa.

Beckman Center Director Lucy Shapiro is the Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor of Cancer Research in the Department of Developmental Biology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Shapiro is a microbial geneticist whose research has resulted in major advances in understanding cell differentiation. Her innovative use of the bacterium Caulobacter crescentus has yielded fundamental insights for understanding the bacterial cell as a paradigm for an integrated system in which the transcriptional circuitry is interwoven with the three-dimensional deployment of key regulatory and morphological proteins. Dr. Shapiro showed for the first time that bacterial DNA replication occurred in a spacially organized way, and that the act of replication and the subsequent segregation of the DNA to opposite ends of the cell dictates the cellular position and time of function of the cell division machine. She has won numerous awards and distinctions for her contributions to the field of microbial genetics including the Selman Waksman Award from the National Academy of Sciences, and the 2009 Canada Gairdner International Award honoring individuals who have made outstanding and original contributions to medical research.