We are also pleased to announce the arrival of Genevieve Giny Fouda, M.D., Ph.D., to the Department of Pediatrics and Weill Cornell Medicine, effective July 1, 2022. Dr. Fouda will serve as Assistant Dean for Faculty Development, focusing on the professional development of basic scientists, and Director of the PhD Scientist Development and Training in Pediatrics Program, where she will help shape the next generation of pediatric scientists in basic sciences and promote wet bench research within the Department. Dr. Fouda will join the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases as a Professor of Pediatrics and provide mentorship to junior scientists and physicians involved in laboratory-based research.
Dr. Fouda’s research focuses on antibody responses to viral pathogens in children in comparison to adults following natural infection and vaccination. She is especially interested in investigating how the unique characteristics of the early life immune system can be harnessed to develop immunization strategies tailored to pediatric settings. Her research program is funded through several NIH grant mechanisms, including several R01s. She is also involved in collaborative projects to investigate pediatric HIV vaccine candidates and immune-based strategies toward a pediatric HIV cure.
After receiving her medical degree from the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences of Yaoundé I in Cameroon and her Ph.D. from Georgetown University, Dr. Fouda went on to complete her postdoctoral training at Duke University as an Associate Professor in Pediatrics with tenure and an Associate Professor in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology. She was the Director for Continuing Education of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Co-Director for the Duke Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) TL1 training program, and Training Director for the Duke Child Health Research career development program.
Dr. Fouda is also passionate about the diversity of the biomedical research community. For the past few years, she has organized Women in Science Mentoring events to provide trainees with the opportunity to learn from the journey of successful women biomedical researchers. She also serves as a facilitator for NIH funded Peer group Research on Mentoring Scientists underrepresented in biomedical research (PROMISE).