We are pleased to announce Inci B. Yildirim, M.D., Ph. D, M.Sc, has been named section chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases & Global Health at Yale School of Medicine, effective August 1, 2024.
Dr. Yildirim is an associate professor of pediatrics (Infectious Disease and Global Health) and of public health (Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases), founding director of Transplant Infectious Diseases, founding director of the Yale Pediatric Vaccine Trials Program, lead at the Yale Network of Vaccine Initiatives, affiliated faculty at the Yale Institute for Global Health, a member of the Yale Center for Infection and Immunity, and a member of the Steering Committee of the Yale Center of Clinical Investigation. She is also a fellow of Yale Pauli Murray College.
She is a highly accomplished physician-scientist and epidemiologist recognized globally for her laboratory- and field-based studies in vaccines and vaccine preventable infections, studying human innate and adaptive immune responses to different vaccines in healthy and immunocompromised populations.
Dr. Yildirim received her medical degree from Hacettepe University School of Medicine in Ankara, Turkiye. She later received her PhD from the Boston University School of Public Health. She completed pediatric residency at Yale School of Medicine, as well as a fellowship in Vaccinology at the Maxwell Finland Laboratory for Infectious Diseases in Boston, MA, and a fellowship in Pediatric Infectious Diseases in the Department of Pediatrics at Harvard Boston Children’s/Boston Medical Center. She graduated from Yale School of Management’s Women’s Leadership Program in 2021 and completed the Infectious Diseases Society of America Leadership Institute in 2022.
Widely called upon for her expertise in vaccinology and infectious diseases in immunocompromised populations, Dr. Yildirim is frequently recognized and awarded for her work. She is an elected member of the Society for Pediatric Research, an elected member of the International Pediatric Transplantation Association Infectious Diseases Care Committee, a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America Leadership Institute, and elected chair of Connecticut State Medical Exemptions Advisory Committee, among many others. She has also been the recipient of the Yale Power Day Annual Teaching Award, Edward H. Kass Award for Clinical Excellence and the Maxwell Finland Award for Excellence in Research from the Massachusetts Infectious Disease Society, a Yale School of Public Health Research Award: COVID-19 Award, an Excellence in Patient Satisfaction Award from Emory University School of Medicine, the Mae Gailani Junior Faculty Award from Yale School of Medicine, and many more. Dr. Yildirim played a significant role in developing tailored immunization and treatment strategies for children with solid organ and bone marrow transplantation throughout the COVID-19 pandemic with her expertise in vaccinology and managing infectious diseases in immunocompromised individuals.
Before her return to Yale in 2020, Dr. Yildirim developed and successfully implemented multiple clinical programs at different institutions targeting improved access to healthcare in vulnerable patient populations. She has also created educational programs for clinical fellows, pediatric residents in infectious diseases in immunocompromised hosts, and graduate level courses in public health. She frequently serves on international/institutional scientific advisory boards including the Advisory Committe of Immunization Practices, Pneumococcal Workgroup, organizes international workshops/symposia, and sits on National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant review panels.
Dr. Yildirim’s transitional lab and research group are funded by the NIH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Gates Foundation, and industry partners. The Yildirim Lab studies innate and adaptive immune signatures of vaccine response in vulnerable populations, such as transplant recipients and individuals with sickle cell disease, using different tools including multicolor flow cytometry, single cell mRNA transcriptomics, and quantitative/functional antibody assays. Over a decade, Dr. Yildirim has developed extensive experience as a clinical trialist conducting phase 1 to phase 3 clinical trials for vaccines against different pathogens such as pneumococci, pandemic and seasonal influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), EBOLA, SARS-CoV2, and Chikungunya virus. As a globally recognized epidemiologist she works with international and national collaborators in low- and middle-income settings including Pakistan, India, Mozambique, and Guatemala to identify disease burden, host profiles, and pathogen virulence factors to guide development of novel strategies with the goal of reducing childhood mortality.
As a prolific and impactful researcher, Dr. Yildirim has over 150 original science publications and she frequently publishes research focusing on infectious disease, and vaccinology in journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, Science, JAMA, Nature, Journal of Infectious Diseases, Science Immunology, Nature Communications, Pediatric Transplantation, Science Translational Medicine, Genome Biology and Evolution, Clinical Infectious Diseases, JAMA Pediatrics, and Pediatrics. She has been an active public scholar and has been cited in many national/international platforms such as the New York Times, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox TV, the New Haven Register, Newsweek, and Financial Times.
In her new role, Dr. Yildirim will lead a group of pediatric infectious disease and global health faculty members in delivering the highest quality care to patients and their families at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital, continue studying vaccines, disease prevention, and the immune response to vaccines, and take part in teaching medical students, pediatric residents, and infectious diseases fellows in a clinical setting, among other responsibilities.
We thank Thomas Murray, MD, PhD, for his role as interim section chief prior to Dr. Yildirim’s appointment. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Yildirim on her new role!