Please join the NIH Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion for a special panel discussion with NIH women in scientific leadership as part of NIH’s 2024 Women’s History Month celebration. The event will take place on March 28 from 3 - 4 pm EST.

Karin Peterson, Ph.D., Senior Investigator and Chief of the Neuroimmunology Section, will moderate the discussion, and Patricia Rosa, Ph.D., Senior Investigator and Chief of the Laboratory of Bacteriology; Carolina Barillas-Mury, M.D., Ph.D., Distinguished Investigator, Head of the Mosquito Immunity and Vector Competence Section, Chief of the Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research; and Sonja Best, Ph.D., Senior Investigator and Chief of the Laboratory of Neurological Infections and Immunity will serve as panelists.

The panel discussion will center on the triumphs and challenges these leaders experienced as they progressed in their scientific careers. This event is sure to provide insight, guidance, and inspiration for anyone looking to succeed in their scientific career.

Register today!

Karin Peterson, Ph.D.
Senior Investigator and Chief of the Neuroimmunology Section at National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Division of Intramural Research

Dr. Karin Peterson is a Senior Investigator and Chief of the Neuroimmunology Section at National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). She received her Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology in 1998 from the University of Missouri Medical School where she studied autoimmunity and the activation of self-reactive T cells. She then went to Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML) in 1998 as a postdoctoral fellow in the Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases and applied her skills in immunology toward understanding the mechanisms that control the immune response to retrovirus infection. During this time, she became interested in the immune responses to virus infections in the central nervous system (CNS). In 2004, Dr. Peterson accepted a position as an assistant professor at Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine, where she furthered her studies on viral pathogenesis in the CNS and taught classes in immunology and virology. In 2008, she returned to RML as a tenure-track investigator to study the innate immune responses in the CNS and their role in viral pathogenesis. She was tenured in 2016 and became a senior investigator and chief of the Neuroimmunology Section.

Patricia Rosa, Ph.D.
Senior Investigator and Chief of the Laboratory of Bacteriology, Division of Intramural Research

Dr. Patricia Rosa is a Senior Investigator and Chief of the Laboratory of Bacteriology at NIAID. She attended Revelle College, University of California San Diego and fell in love with molecular biology. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Oregon’s Institute of Molecular Biology and studied pituitary hormone processing.

Dr. Rosa completed her first postdoc with Don Shreffler at Washington University, analyzing complement protein synthesis by primary hepatocytes. She did a second postdoc with molecular biologist Ron Ogata, in which she analyzed the structure and expression of murine complement genes. Dr. Rosa was hired as a Senior Staff Fellow at RML in 1988, where she became fascinated with the segmented genome of Borrelia burgdorferi. She is indebted to Jim Musser for his full support when she came up for tenure in 2000. Dr. Rosa is grateful to everyone who worked in her lab at RML for their essential contributions to the collective success of their research. Dr. Rosa also benefitted from the skilled assistance of many people outside her lab.

Carolina Barillas-Mury, M.D., Ph.D.
Distinguished Investigator, Head of the Mosquito Immunity and Vector Competence Section, Chief of the Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIAID

Dr. Barillas-Mury obtained her M.D. from Universidad del Valle de Guatemala and her Ph.D. from the University of Arizona. She completed her post-doctoral training at Harvard University and at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Germany. She joined NIH in 1993 and became a NIH Distinguished Investigator in 2016. She chairs the NIAID Mosquito Immunity and Vector Competence Section. Her team investigates the interactions between the mosquito immune system and Plasmodium parasites critical for malaria transmission with the ultimate goal of disrupting the parasite’s life cycle and prevent human disease. Dr. Barillas-Mury received the 2010 Bailey K. Ashford Medal from the American Society of Tropical Medicine and the 2013 Sanofi/Pasteur Award in Tropical and Neglected Diseases. She was elected member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2014 and to the National Academy of Medicine in 2021. She received a Doctor Honoris Causa from Universidad del Valle de Guatemala in 2016, was 2017 Alumni of the Year of the University of Arizona. She was elected Fellow of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in 2017 and of the Entomological Society of America in 2020.

Sonja Best, Ph.D.
Senior Investigator and Chief of the Laboratory of Neurological Infections and Immunity, Division of Intramural Research

Dr. Sonja Best is Senior Investigator and Chief of the Laboratory of Neurological Infections and Immunity at NIAID. Her research group is called the Innate Immunity and Pathogenesis Section and focuses on understanding the host-pathogen interface associated with the intrinsic antiviral response of cells to emerging RNA viruses. Dr. Best earned her Ph.D. from Australian National University where she examined pathogenesis of myxoma virus. She then joined the RML where she conducted postdoctoral research focusing on the role of host innate immunity in viral pathogenesis prior to establishing her independent laboratory. Dr. Best received tenure and was promoted to Senior Investigator in 2017. She has received multiple awards including a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers and currently serves on several Editorial boards including Journal of Virology, PLoS Pathogens, and Science Translational Medicine.

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