T H E   B I O S C O P E

Section II: New Faces at Sophie Davis

Sanna M. Goyert, PhD, has joined the faculty of Sophie Davis and is the new Chair of its Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Sanna Goyert received her BS in Medical Technology from the University of Cincinnati and her PhD in Immunology from the Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences (Sackler Institute), at New York University. Her early studies led to major advancements in the field of histocompatibility. More recently, her studies have strongly impacted on our understanding of severe inflammation leading to sepsis/septic shock. She has been a leader in the field of innate immunity, using molecular tools to study sepsis in complex animal models. In 2000 she won the Leukemia Society of America's Stohlman Award. She holds two patents for the treatment of sepsis.

Dr. Goyert comes to us from the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research of the North Shore-LIJ Health System and NYU School of Medicine where she was an Associate Professor of Medicine and Pathology. Dr. Goyert’s studies will add exciting new areas of translational research to the School and will bring new perspectives to the Department’s curriculum.

Joining the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology are Ira R. Josephson, PhD, Maria Felice Ghilardi, MD, and Luis A. Vidal, PhD.

Dr. Josephson, a graduate of Tufts University (BS), and University of Virginia (PhD), has been appointed Associate Medical Professor. He was Associate Professor at the Medical Biotechnology Center of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute and a consultant for the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Science of the National Institute on Aging. Dr. Josephson has been the PI on many NIH grants focused on the role of calcium channels and the aging and diseased heart.

Maria Felice Ghilardi, MD, is joining as a PI and Adjunct Medical Assistant Professor. Dr. Ghilardi earned her MD from the Facolta’ di Medicina & Chirugia, Universita’degli Studi, Milano, Italy and has been a researcher at the Psychiatric Institute of Columbia University. Her research focuses on motor learning in Parkinson’s disease and other neuropsychiatric disorders.

Luis Vidal, PhD, a Post Doctorate Fellow, will look at the role of genes that regulate the circadian rhythm and the responsiveness to cocaine. Dr. Vidal, who earned his PhD from the University of Puerto Rico, will participate in the Department’s on-going research project on how prenatal exposure to cocaine and other illegal stimulants causes damage.

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