Inaugural Robert S. Sherwin All Scholar Day Speakers
- Michael Kurilla is the director of the Division of Clinical Innovation at NCATS. In this capacity, he oversees the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program, which supports innovative solutions to advance the efficiency, quality and impact of translational science, with the ultimate goal of getting more treatments to more patients more quickly. Prior to joining NCATS, Kurilla served as the director of the Office of Biodefense Research Resources and Translational Research within the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), where he focused on translational efforts toward infectious disease product development, including vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, with emphasis on biodefense and emerging infectious disease threats. Prior to joining NIAID in 2003, Kurilla was an Associate Director for infectious diseases at Wyeth. He also worked in antimicrobials at DuPont and on clinical microbiology and molecular pathology at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center.
- Rory McCrimmon trained at the University of Edinburgh and completed his clinical and speciality training in the South-East of Scotland before becoming an NHS Consultant Physician in Diabetes and Endocrinology at University Hospital Aintree, Liverpool, in 2000. In 2002, he joined the faculty at Yale University, Connecticut, to investigate why people with type 1 and 2 diabetes are very prone to developing low glucose (Hypoglycaemia). He returned to Scotland in 2009 to establish his laboratory at the University of Dundee, where he is currently Dean of Medicine, Professor of Experimental Diabetes and Metabolism and Honorary Consultant He was recently awarded the 2015 RD Lawrence Lecture by Diabetes UK for his research in Hypoglycaemia.
- Kenneth S. Polonsky, MD, was named Executive Vice President of the University for Biology and Medicine and President of the University of Chicago Health System on October 1, 2017. He currently serves as the interim Dean of the Division of the Biological Sciences and the Pritzker School of Medicine. In his role as dean, Polonsky oversees the University's research and education programs in the biological sciences and medicine. As executive vice president, he reports directly to the University president and serves as an officer of the University, overseeing the University of Chicago Medical Center.
- Dr. Robert Alpern was appointed Dean of Yale School of Medicine in June 2004, continuing a career that has combined his interests in research, clinical practice and teaching. As Dean, he oversees one of the world’s leading institutions for biomedical research and advanced medical care.
- Dr. Smith received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University, his medical degree from the Harvard Medical School, and his residency/fellowship training at The Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Dana Farber Cancer Center. He is board certified in Pathology / Hematopathology and in Internal Medicine / Hematology-Oncology. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Smith has an investigative interest in the inflammation-coagulation interface, especially in relation to biomaterials, as well as in cellular immunotherapeutics, with over 175 publications. His educational activities include direction of an NIH-funded research training program in Immunohematology and Transfusion Medicine and he also occasionally lectures in the areas of biomedical ethics, “therapeutic pathology”, and in the education of the physician-scientist.