In 1973, UCLA established its first Pediatric Infectious Diseases training program and, under the leadership of James Cherry, MD, launched the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Pediatrics.
On Oct. 20, 17 former fellows of the program helped to celebrate the 50th anniversary of that important development, presenting at an all-day conference at the Faculty Club. A celebration dinner followed the next night at the Luskin Center.
Among those presenting was Karin Nielsen, MD, a professor of pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases at UCLA Health. Dr. Nielsen, while studying in Brazil, was the first to describe the maternal effects of the Zika virus infection on an in-utero child.
Other former fellows on the program included Jacqueline Deen, MD, who presented on “Challenges in Dengue Vaccine Development and Deployment”; Peter Krause, MD, on “Human Tick-borne Diseases”; Lorenz Von Seidlein, MD, PhD, on “Malaria Vaccines and Their Role in Control and Elimination”; and David Bernstein, MD, on “Herpes Simplex Vaccines: The Long and Winding Road.”
Dr. Bernstein is responsible for developing a rotavirus vaccine credited with saving the lives of millions of infants globally.
