Liise-anne Pirofski, MDDecember 4, 2013 - BRONX, NY - Dr. Liise-anne Pirofski, Professor of Medicine and of Microbiology & Immunology, Selma and Dr. Jacques Mitrani Chair in Biomedical Research, and Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, is one of the winners of the 2013 Einstein Faculty Mentoring Award.
Dr. Pirofski studies innate and vaccine-induced immunity to disease-causing microbes, including Cryptococcus (the leading cause of fungal meningitis globally) and Pneumococcus (the leading cause of pneumonia in the United States and globally). She has described novel ways by which antibodies protect against bacterial pneumonia and sepsis and her work has improved understanding of how Cryptococcus and Pneumococcus cause disease.
Dr. Pirofski is co-author of the “damage-response framework of microbial pathogenesis,” a new theory that takes into account contributions of the host in addition to actions of the microbe to explain the outcome of microbial infection. In her role as chief of the division of infectious diseases at Montefiore, Dr. Pirofski led the development of an antibiotic stewardship program and an immunocompromised patient and transplant infectious diseases service. She is a member of the American Academy of Microbiology, a fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, an associate editor of the journal Medical Mycology, an editor of mBio, and a member of the Vaccines for Microbial Diseases Study Section of the NIH.
The Faculty Mentoring Award is presented annually to senior faculty members who have merited distinction in mentoring Einstein faculty in their career development. Two awards are given, one to a faculty member whose primary research focus or appointment is in the basic sciences, and a second to a faculty member whose primary research focus is clinically based or medical education.
"Our sincerest congratulations to Dr. Pirofski for this well-deserved recognition," said Dr. Victor Schuster, Chairman of the Department of Medicine.
Dr. Pirofski and others will be honored at an awards ceremony that will be followed by a reception on Tuesday, December 10. The awards ceremony will include a keynote address delivered by Dr. James Gavin, CEO and Chief Medical Officer of Healing Our Village, Inc., and Clinical Professor of Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
4:30 pm
Lubin Dining Hall
"Mentoring Faculty from Diverse Backgrounds for Scientific Excellence"
Speaker: James R Gavin, III, MD, PhD
CEO and Chief Medical Officer, Healing Our Village, Inc.
Clinical Professor of Medicine
Emory University School of Medicine
Atlanta, GA
Prior to becoming Chief Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer of Healing Our Village, Inc., Dr. Gavin was professor and chief of the Diabetes Section at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences, is a past president of the American Diabetes Association, and was voted a Living Legend in Diabetes by the AADE in 2009. He is Chairman of the Board for the Partnership for a Healthier America, and Immediate Past Director of the Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program, a position he held for 20 years. He serves on the boards of trustees for Emory University, for Livingstone College, and is a director for Baxter International, Inc.
Register for this event
Questions: call 718-430-2510 or email diversity_mentoring@einsteinmed.org.
