Please Note: Applications are reviewed annually between January and March for the upcoming training period. The upcoming training period runs from July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026. The 2025-2026 application deadline is January 31, 2025.
Emily Stucke is a postdoctoral fellow in the Malaria Research Program under the mentorship of Mark Travassos and Shannon Takala-Harrison. She studies the var gene family of Plasmodium falciparum, the malaria parasite responsible for the most malaria deaths. var genes encode antigens that mediate cytoadhesion to host cells and play a critical role in immune evasion. She is interested in how the expression of var genes is associated with severe malaria. Identification of antigens associated with the development of severe disease will determine potential vaccine targets and inform the treatment of severe disease.
Emily received her BA in Microbiology and Minor in Molecular Biology from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She worked as a research assistant at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center before beginning the Epidemiology and Human Genetics Graduate Program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine where she completed her PhD in Epidemiology.
Sumanth Cherukumilli joined CVD as a postdoctoral fellow in July of 2023. His research focuses on the impact of antimicrobial resistance on infant mortality in low and middle-income countries, specifically Mali. He is interested in exploring the disease burden of multi-drug resistant pathogens, particularly Klebsiella pneumoniae, across sites in Bamako, Mali. He received his bachelor's and MD from the American University of Antigua and is currently working towards obtaining a master's in global health at the University of Maryland. His primary mentor is Dr. Milagritos Tapia.
Shana attended the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) for undergrad. She has two B.S., one in Biological Sciences and the other in Environmental Science. Shana Gregory received her Ph.D. in Immunology from Northwestern University in 2022, where she studied cancer immunology. She Joined the CVD as a postdoctoral fellow in April 2023 under the mentorship of Dr. Marcelo Sztein. Her current research project studies the long-term immune response in children vaccinated with the licensed live oral typhoid vaccine, Ty21a.
Hannah Despres joined CVD as a postdoctoral fellow in September 2024. Her research focuses on SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development in individuals with comorbidities. She is generally interested in the intersection between public health and infectious disease.
She obtained a PhD in cellular, molecular, and biomedical sciences from the University of Vermont. Her dissertation titled "The characterization of SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern at multiple scales" focused broadly on the differences in infectivity between SARS-CoV-2 variants within wildlife, individuals, and at the molecular level. Primary mentor: Matthew Frieman
Vaccines are one of the most cost-effective approaches in preventive medicine. The National Research Service Award training grant is a unique opportunity designed to prepare MDs, PhDs, or those with equivalent degrees, for careers in vaccinology. Each fellow selects the laboratory research track, clinical track, or combined laboratory and clinical track. The program offers all trainees broad exposure to both laboratory and clinical trial phases of vaccinology.
Individuals interested in fellowship opportunities are encouraged to contact individual faculty and view faculty webpages.
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If you do not meet the eligibility requirements for the fellowship training program, but would like to be considered for other post-doc training opportunities, please submit your CV to CVD_training@som.umaryland.edu.
Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health
University of Maryland School of Medicine
685 W. Baltimore Street, Room 480
Baltimore, MD 21201
+1 (410) 706-5328
CVD_training@som.umaryland.edu