Aida Habtezion | |
---|---|
Born | Eritrea |
Academic background | |
Education | BSc, Chemistry, University of Alberta MSc, University of Guelph MD, McMaster University |
Academic work | |
Institutions | Stanford University |
Aida Habtezion is a Canadian physician and immunologist. In 2021,Habtezion took a leave of absence from Stanford University to become the Chief Medical Officer of Pfizer and head of Worldwide Medical and Safety within Worldwide Research,Development,and Medicine.
Habtezion was born in Asmara,Eritrea to Ethiopia Habtezion and Roman Haregot. She is the granddaughter of Dejazmach Haregot Abbai who served as Mayor of Asmara from 1963 until 1974. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Alberta,her Master of Science in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Guelph,and her medical degree from McMaster University. [1]
Following her clinical fellowship training,Habtezion obtained postdoctoral research training in Immunology at Stanford University. [1] Habtezion was a fellow in the laboratory of Eugene Butcher where she became interested in ulcerative colitis. [2] Habtezion then joined the faculty at Stanford in 2010 as an assistant professor of medicine. [3] Upon joining the faculty,led her own laboratory which "aims to understand immune mechanisms and identify potential immune-based therapeutic targets for pancreatitis and inflammatory bowel disease." [4] As a result of her research,she was elected a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 2017. [4]
During the COVID-19 pandemic,Habtezion co-authored SARS-CoV-2 Testing,Prevalence,and Predictors of COVID-19 in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Northern California. [5] In 2021,Habtezion took a leave of absence from Stanford to become the Chief Medical Officer of Pfizer and head of Worldwide Medical and Safety within Worldwide Research,Development,and Medicine. [6]
Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain,diarrhea,fever,abdominal distension,and weight loss.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of inflammatory conditions of the colon and small intestine,Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis being the principal types. Crohn's disease affects the small intestine and large intestine,as well as the mouth,esophagus,stomach and the anus,whereas ulcerative colitis primarily affects the colon and the rectum.
An asymptomatic carrier is a person or other organism that has become infected with a pathogen,but that displays no signs or symptoms.
Kevin J. Tracey,a neurosurgeon and inventor,is the president and CEO of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research,professor of neurosurgery and molecular medicine at Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell,and president of the Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine in Manhasset,New York. The Public Library of Science Magazine,PLOS Biology,recognized Tracey in 2019 as one of the most cited researchers in the world.
Faecal calprotectin is a biochemical measurement of the protein calprotectin in the stool. Elevated faecal calprotectin indicates the migration of neutrophils to the intestinal mucosa,which occurs during intestinal inflammation,including inflammation caused by inflammatory bowel disease. Under a specific clinical scenario,the test may eliminate the need for invasive colonoscopy or radio-labelled white cell scanning.
Mel Krajden is a physician and professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver,British Columbia,Canada. He is the medical director of the BCCDC Public Health Laboratory. Dr. Krajden obtained his BSc,MD,and FRCPC at McGill University,followed by a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Stanford University. He is also the Medical Director of the Public Health Laboratory at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control. His research focuses on the prevention and care of hepatitis,human papillomavirus,and human immunodeficiency virus.
Katherine A. Fitzgerald is an Irish-born American molecular biologist and virologist. She is a professor of medicine currently working in the Division of Infectious Disease at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She is also the director of the Program in Innate Immunity.
Coronavirus disease 2019 is a contagious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan,China,in December 2019. The disease has since spread worldwide,leading to an ongoing pandemic.
An mRNAvaccine is a type of vaccine that uses a copy of a molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA) to produce an immune response. The vaccine delivers molecules of antigen-encoding mRNA into immune cells,which use the designed mRNA as a blueprint to build foreign protein that would normally be produced by a pathogen or by a cancer cell. These protein molecules stimulate an adaptive immune response that teaches the body to identify and destroy the corresponding pathogen or cancer cells. The mRNA is delivered by a co-formulation of the RNA encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles that protect the RNA strands and help their absorption into the cells.
A COVID‑19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2),the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19). Prior to the COVID‑19 pandemic,an established body of knowledge existed about the structure and function of coronaviruses causing diseases like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). This knowledge accelerated the development of various vaccine platforms during early 2020. The initial focus of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines was on preventing symptomatic,often severe illness. On 10 January 2020,the SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequence data was shared through GISAID,and by 19 March,the global pharmaceutical industry announced a major commitment to address COVID‑19. The COVID‑19 vaccines are widely credited for their role in reducing the severity and death caused by COVID‑19.
COVID-19 drug development is the research process to develop preventative therapeutic prescription drugs that would alleviate the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). From early 2020 through 2021,several hundred drug companies,biotechnology firms,university research groups,and health organizations were developing therapeutic candidates for COVID-19 disease in various stages of preclinical or clinical research,with 419 potential COVID-19 drugs in clinical trials,as of April 2021.
Liise-anne Pirofski is a Professor of Medicine,Microbiology and Immunology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center. She is a Member of the Association of American Physicians,and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science,American Academy of Microbiology,American College of Physicians and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
Symptoms of COVID-19 are variable,ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Common symptoms include headache,loss of smell (anosmia) and taste (ageusia),nasal congestion and runny nose,cough,muscle pain,sore throat,fever,diarrhea,and breathing difficulties. People with the same infection may have different symptoms,and their symptoms may change over time. Three common clusters of symptoms have been identified:one respiratory symptom cluster with cough,sputum,shortness of breath,and fever;a musculoskeletal symptom cluster with muscle and joint pain,headache,and fatigue;a cluster of digestive symptoms with abdominal pain,vomiting,and diarrhea. In people without prior ear,nose,and throat disorders,loss of taste combined with loss of smell is associated with COVID-19 and is reported in as many as 88% of cases.
The Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine,sold under the brand name Comirnaty,is an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine developed by the German biotechnology company BioNTech and for its development collaborated with American company Pfizer,for support with clinical trials,logistics,and manufacturing. It is authorized for use in people aged five years and older in some jurisdictions,twelve years and older in some jurisdictions,and for people sixteen years and older in other jurisdictions,to provide protection against COVID-19,caused by infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The vaccine is given by intramuscular injection. It is composed of nucleoside-modified mRNA (modRNA) encoding a mutated form of the full-length spike protein of SARS-CoV-2,which is encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles. Initial advice indicated that vaccination required two doses given 21 days apart,but the interval was later extended to up to 42 days in the US,and up to four months in Canada.
Drew Weissman is a physician-scientist best known for his contributions to RNA biology. His work helped enable development of effective mRNA vaccines,the best known of which are those for COVID-19 produced by BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna. Weissman is a professor of medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn). He and his research colleague Katalin Karikóhave received numerous awards including the presigious Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award.
The CureVac COVID-19 vaccine was a COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by CureVac N.V. and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). The vaccine showed inadequate results in its Phase III trials with only 47% efficacy. In October 2021 CureVac abandoned further development and production plans for CVnCoV and refocused efforts on a cooperation with GlaxoSmithKline.
Maria Virginia Pascual is a Spanish-American pediatric rheumatologist.
Maria Teresa Abreu is an American gastroenterologist with a focus on inflammatory bowel disease. She was inducted into the Academy of Science,Engineering and Medicine of Florida for "her research in advancing understanding of therapeutic drug monitoring genotype–phenotype associations in inflammatory bowel diseases."
COVID-19 vaccine clinical research uses clinical research to establish the characteristics of COVID-19 vaccines. These characteristics include efficacy,effectiveness and safety. Thirty vaccines are authorized for use by national governments,including eight approved for emergency or full use by at least one WHO-recognised stringent regulatory authority;while five are in Phase IV. 204 vaccines are undergoing clinical trials that have yet to be authorized. Nine clinical trials consider heterologous vaccination courses.
Susanna Jane Dunachie is a British microbiologist who is Professor of Infectious Diseases at the University of Oxford. Her work considers microbiology and immunology to better understand bacterial infection and accelerate the development of vaccines. She has focussed on melioidosis,scrub typhus and tuberculosis. During the COVID-19 pandemic,she studied T cell immunity to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
Aida Habtezion publications indexed by Google Scholar