Dr. Stephanie Rolsma is an assistant professor in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

Dr. Rolsma has experience in microbiology, vaccine development, and clinical research and her current research focuses on therapeutics and interventions in critically ill patients and clinical trials. Her primary research focuses on evaluating the utility of therapeutic drug monitoring of beta-lactam antibiotics in pediatric and adult patients, including cystic fibrosis patients and patients receiving intensive critical care. She also serves as a co-investigator in studies conducted through the NIH-funded Vanderbilt Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit (VTEU), including Moderna and Janssen Phase 3 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine trials in adults, a Moderna Phase 2/3 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine trial in children, a Moderna Phase 1 SARS-CoV-2 variant vaccine trial in adults, a study of infant immune responses to RSV, and an intranasal influenza vaccine in pediatric patients. As a co-investigator for the CDC-funded Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment Network she works to address safety issues and clinical adverse events following vaccinations.

Dr. Rolsma received her B.S. in Microbiology from Michigan State University. She was awarded a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics and M.D. from the Medical College of Wisconsin, where she was a part of the Medical Scientist Training Program. She completed a residency in pediatrics and a fellowship in pediatric infectious diseases at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

Dr. Krishnendu (Krish) Roy received his B. Tech. from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, his M.S. from Boston University, and his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University. After two years in industry, Dr. Roy joined the Biomedical Engineering Faculty at The University of Texas at Austin in 2002, eventually becoming Professor and Fellow of the Cockrell Chair in Engineering Excellence. In 2013 he moved to Georgia Tech, where he was most recently a Regents Professor and the Robert A. Milton Endowed Chair in Biomedical Engineering. He also served as Director of three centers—the NSF Engineering Research Center (ERC) for Cell Manufacturing Technologies (CMaT), The Marcus Center for Therapeutic Cell Characterization and Manufacturing (MC3M), and the Center for ImmunoEngineering. In August 2023, Dr. Roy joined Vanderbilt University as the Bruce and Bridgitt Evans Dean of Engineering and a University Distinguished Professor in Biomedical Engineering, and Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, with a secondary appointment in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.

In recognition of his seminal contributions, Dr. Roy has been elected Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), and the Controlled Release Society (CRS). He has received numerous awards and honors, including the Clemson Award for Basic Research from the Society for Biomaterials, the Industry Growth Award from Georgia Bio, Young Investigator Awards from the Controlled Release Society (CRS) and The Society for Biomaterials (SFB), the NSF CAREER award, etc. He has also received the Best Teacher Award from the Biomedical Engineering Students at UT-Austin and the Best Advisor Award from Bioengineering students at Georgia Tech. Dr. Roy serves on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Controlled Release, the Journal of Immunology and Regenerative Medicine, and the Journal of Advanced Biomanufacturing and Bioprocessing. He also serves as a board member of the Standards Coordinating Body for Regenerative Medicine and several other academic and industry advisory boards. Starting in August 2023, he co-chairs the Forum on Regenerative Medicine of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM).

Dr. Nicholas Zachos received his Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from Eastern Virginia Medical School in 2002. He then pursued a postdoctoral fellowship in epithelial biology in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He joined the faculty at Johns Hopkins as an Assistant Professor in 2008 investigating how enteric pathogens alter apical protein trafficking in intestinal epithelial cells. In 2012, he was awarded the W. Leigh Thompson Excellence in Research Award from the Johns Hopkins Department of Medicine for the development of a novel peptide-based therapy to treat diarrheal diseases. Since then, Dr. Zachos has been recognized for his work using human intestinal organoids and innate immune cells and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2017. He was recruited to join the Department of Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2022 and has secondary appointments in the Departments of Medicine and Cell and Developmental Biology. Dr. Zachos programs annual meetings for the Gastrointestinal and Liver Section of the American Physiological Society and the Basic and Clinical Intestinal Disorders Section of the American Gastroenterological Association. He has been funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the Department of Defense, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as Pharma.