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INFORMATION FOR

Ellen F Foxman, MD, PhD

Associate Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Immunobiology

Contact Information

Ellen F Foxman, MD, PhD

Mailing Address

  • Laboratory Medicine

    Department of Laboratory Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, P.O. Box 208035

    New Haven, CT 06520-8035

    United States

Appointments

Biography

Dr. Ellen Foxman, M.D., PhD. is an Associate Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Immunobiology at the Yale School of Medicine. Her laboratory studies antiviral defense in the human respiratory tract, focusing on innate immunity, an inborn system of protective mechanisms that guards against harmful viruses or bacteria, even when the body has never encountered the infection before. The overarching goal of this research is to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of illnesses caused by respiratory viruses.

Background. Dr. Foxman trained in medicine and immunology at Stanford University. She became interested in respiratory viruses during her residency training in clinical pathology at Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital, due to the advances in testing that were beginning to reveal a previously unappreciated very high prevalence of these viruses. She later joined Dr. Akiko Iwasaki’s group at Yale as a postdoctoral associate, where she demonstrated suppression of innate immune responses in the airway epithelium by cool ambient temperature. In 2016, she established her independent research group at Yale. Contributions of the Foxman Lab include defining biomarkers to track innate immune responses in the human respiratory tract and uncovering evidence for viral interference, in which general antiviral defenses triggered by common cold viruses protect against unrelated viruses such as influenza and COVID-19. Dr. Foxman’s recognitions include the 2018 Hartwell Foundation Individual Biomedical Research Award, the 2021 ASCI Young Physician-Scientist Award, and the 2021 Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Award.

Education & Training

  • Resident in Clinical Pathology
    Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School (2004)
  • MD
    Stanford University School of Medicine, Medicine (2001)
  • PhD
    Stanford University School of Medicine, Immunology (1999)
  • BS
    Yale University, Biology (1993)

Honors & Recognition

AwardAwarding OrganizationDate
Yale Public Voices FellowThe OpEd Project2021
2021 Rita Allen Foundation Scholars AwardRita Allen Foundation2021
2021 ASCI Council Young Physician-Scientist AwardThe American Society of Clinical Investigation2021
2019 Levine Lab Laureate AwardRosalind Franklin Society2019
2018 Hartwell Individual Biomedical Research AwardThe Hartwell Foundation2019
2017 Prize Recipient, National Antimicrobial Resistance Diagnostic Challenge, Phase INIH2017
2011 Invited lecturer, 9th International Student SeminarKyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
2010 Recipient of Research Supplement to Promote Reentry into Biomedical and Behavioral Research CareersNational Institutes of Health
2013 Invited Young Investigator oral presentation, ASM General MeetingAmerican Society for Microbiology
2013 Paul E. Strandjord Young Investigator Award with DistinctionAcademy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists

Professional Service

OrganizationRoleDate
Yale Post-Doctoral Association Mentoring GroupMentor2021 - 2022
IBIO Diversity and Inclusion Working GroupMember2021 - 2022
Laboratory Medicine Faculty Retreat Planning CommitteeCo-Chair2021
YCEEH Summer Program for Undergraduate Students Underrepresented in ScienceLecturer2021
Swiss National Science FoundationExternal Reviewer2021 - Present
Human Translational Immunology Steering CommitteeMember2020 - 2022
IBIO First Year Student Mentoring CommitteeMentor2020 - 2022
Human Translational Immunology Seminar SeriesCo-Chair2020 - 2022
IMPACT Biorepository Board of GovernorsBoard Member2020 - 2021
COVID-19 Lab Working GroupConvener of COVID-19 Yale Lab Working group, met three times per week for two months (March-April 2020)2020
NIHU54 Serological Sciences Emergency Awards Study Section2020
International Congress of Mucosal Immunology, Society of Mucosal ImmunologyCommittee Member2020
Department of Laboratory Medicine Grand RoundsCo-Chair2019 - 2022
Association of Clinical Pathology Physicians and ScientistsACLPS Young Investigator Grants2019 - 2021
IBIO Diversity and Climate CommitteeMember2019
YCEEH Summer Program for Undergraduate Students Underrepresented in ScienceLecturer2019
Science Talks@ Tilde Cafe, a community scientific education initiativeLecturer2019
Search Committee, Clinical Chemistry FacultyMember2018 - 2019
New PI Leadership Cohort Monthly MeetingsConvener of new PI leadership cohort monthly meetings from Yale HFP leadership course2018 - 2019
Search Committee, Physician-Scientist FacultyMember2017 - 2022
Yale Medical Scientist Training Program (MD PhD) Recruitment CommitteeMember2017 - 2020
Education Committee, Association of Clinical Pathology Physicians and Scientists (ACLPS)Committee Member2017 - 2020
Laboratory Medicine Research Retreat Planning CommitteeMember2017
Medical Research Council, U.K.Reviewer for Clinician-Scientist FEC Fellowship2017
Women in Science at Yale (WISAY) Mentoring GroupMentor2016 - 2017
Interviews on scientific topics for international media organizations including BBC NewsHour, Der Spiegel, Arirang TV S KoreaParticipant2015 - 2021
Interviews on scientific topics for national media organizations including NPR, Huffington Post Video, NOVA/PBS, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Good Morning America, Scientific American, PBS NewsHourSee links in Yale Profile2015 - 2021
Nature, Cell Host Microbe, Cell Stem Cell, Nature Microbiology, Thorax, Trends in Microbiology, Science Immunology, Science Advances, PLoS Biology, PLoS Pathogens, Virology, European Respiratory Journal, Journal of Infectious Diseases, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Journal of Immunology, Lancet MicrobeReviewer2015 - Present

Departments & Organizations