School of Medicine


Showing 31-40 of 52 Results

  • Trung Hoang Minh Pham

    Trung Hoang Minh Pham

    Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Infectious Diseases)

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsUncovering mechanisms of tissue immunity and immunophysiology during persistent infection

    The immune system safeguards the health of complex organisms by rapidly eliminating invading pathogens, curbing infection-induced tissue disruptions, and maintaining tissue homeostasis. Many bacterial pathogens evade host antimicrobial mechanisms and persist in infected tissues at low levels for long periods of time even in the presence of innate and adaptive immune resistance. During persistent infection, the immune system simultaneously orchestrates antimicrobial responses to contain the pathogen, repairs damaged tissue, regulates nutrient resources, and maintains other tissue physiologic functions to ensure host survival. Failure of any of these tasks leads to uncontrolled infection, devastating disease, and even death. The goals of our research are to understand:

    1)What are the innate and adaptive immune cellular mechanisms that contain pathogens during persistent infection?
    2)How are tissue physiological functions, such as tissue repair and nutrient regulation, maintained during persistent infection?
    3)How do pathogens survive innate and adaptive antimicrobial mechanisms in infected tissues?
    4)How does persistent infection impact host immunity to secondary infections of a similar or different pathogen?

    Through investigating these fundamental questions, we may be able to decode the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms that can be harnessed to eradicate infections and help restore health after an infectious insult. We employ animal infection models and bring together immunology, tissue biology, microbiology, and genetics to uncover the mechanisms of tissue immunity and immunophysiology during persistent infection from the molecular to organismal level.

    Current areas of research:
    •Development, maintenance, and plasticity of macrophage functional diversity in infected tissue
    •Tissue repair and nutrient regulation during persistent infection
    •Cellular dynamics and bacterial persistence in lymphoid organs

    We are looking for highly motivated team members who are passionate about making impactful scientific discoveries to join our group at all levels. For opportunities and positions available for pre-doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows, please contact tpham8@stanford.edu!

  • Harold Westley Phillips

    Harold Westley Phillips

    Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery (Pediatric Neurosurgery)

    BioH. Westley Phillips, MD is an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at Stanford University where he is a neurosurgeon-scientist specializing in pediatric neurosurgery with a special interest in epilepsy. Dr. Phillips received his undergraduate degree at Yale University where he was a member of the Varsity Football Team and received a Fulbright Scholarship. He completed an MD at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with a certificate of distinction in the Clinical Neuroscience Training Program. He completed neurosurgical residency at UCLA where he received 2 years of NIH funding to investigate the genetic underpinnings of epilepsy. He received fellowship training in pediatric epilepsy surgery and genetics research at Boston Children’s Hospital as well as pediatric neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh before his arrival at Stanford. At Stanford, Dr. Phillips leads a molecular genetics laboratory and has a particular interest in defining and further understanding somatic mosaicism and its role in epileptogenesis. He has published manuscripts in leading academic journals including Nature: Genetics, JAMA Neurology, Journal of Neuroscience, Scientific Reports, Epilepsia and Neurology. He is dedicated to improving the treatment and outcomes for children with drug resistant epilepsy through innovative research and cutting-edge surgical techniques.

  • Benjamin Pinsky

    Benjamin Pinsky

    Professor of Pathology, of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and, by courtesy, of Pediatrics (Infectious Diseases)

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDevelopment and application of molecular assays for the diagnosis and management of infectious diseases.

  • Celeste Poe, Ph.D., LMFT

    Celeste Poe, Ph.D., LMFT

    Clinical Instructor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and Child Development

    BioDr. Celeste Poe is a licensed clinical psychologist and licensed marriage and family therapist. She is a Clinical Instructor and Attending NICU and Perinatal Psychologist at Stanford University School of Medicine. She is the director of the NICU Psychology Program at Lucile Packard Childrens Hospital where she provides psychological consultation and psychotherapy to parents of infants and young children hospitalized in the NICU, CVICU, and other departments of the hospital.

    Dr. Poe’s research and clinical specialties include perinatal and early childhood mental health, pediatric behavioral health, ethnic minority mental health, and grief, trauma, and bereavement. Dr. Poe is an alumna of the American Psychological Association’s Minority Fellowship Program and is currently a Zero to Three Fellow. Dr. Poe is a registered Circle of Security Parenting facilitator and is a rostered Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) provider.

    She also holds an appointment as a Clinical Instructor at the Yale Child Study Center where she works on the Grief-Sensitive Healthcare Project which aims to enhance medical providers’ capacities to meet the needs of grieving families.

  • Matthew Porteus

    Matthew Porteus

    Sutardja Chuk Professor of Definitive and Curative Medicine

    BioDr. Porteus was raised in California and was a local graduate of Gunn High School before completing A.B. degree in “History and Science” at Harvard University where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and wrote an thesis entitled “Safe or Dangerous Chimeras: The recombinant DNA controversy as a conflict between differing socially constructed interpretations of recombinant DNA technology.” He then returned to the area and completed his combined MD, PhD at Stanford Medical School with his PhD focused on understanding the molecular basis of mammalian forebrain development with his PhD thesis entitled “Isolation and Characterization of TES-1/DLX-2: A Novel Homeobox Gene Expressed During Mammalian Forebrain Development.” After completion of his dual degree program, he was an intern and resident in Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital and then completed his Pediatric Hematology/Oncology fellowship in the combined Boston Chidlren’s Hospital/Dana Farber Cancer Institute program. For his fellowship and post-doctoral research he worked with Dr. David Baltimore at MIT and CalTech where he began his studies in developing homologous recombination as a strategy to correct disease causing mutations in stem cells as definitive and curative therapy for children with genetic diseases of the blood, particularly sickle cell disease. Following his training with Dr. Baltimore, he took an independent faculty position at UT Southwestern in the Departments of Pediatrics and Biochemistry before again returning to Stanford in 2010 as an Associate Professor. During this time his work has been the first to demonstrate that gene correction could be achieved in human cells at frequencies that were high enough to potentially cure patients and is considered one of the pioneers and founders of the field of genome editing—a field that now encompasses thousands of labs and several new companies throughout the world. His research program continues to focus on developing genome editing by homologous recombination as curative therapy for children with genetic diseases but also has interests in the clonal dynamics of heterogeneous populations and the use of genome editing to better understand diseases that affect children including infant leukemias and genetic diseases that affect the muscle. Clinically, Dr. Porteus attends at the Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital where he takes care of pediatric patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.