Isabele Pardo is a medical student at the Faculdade Israelita de Ciências da Saúde Albert Einstein (FICSAE) in São Paulo, Brazil. She is actively engaged in undergraduate research, with a focus on Infectious Diseases. Her academic interests encompass global epidemiology and infection prevention. Isabele’s research projects have explored hand hygiene practices, infection prevention strategies, and diagnostic tools for infectious diseases.
Dr. Luciana Finamor is the Head of the Uveitis Section at the Department of Ophthalmology, UNIFESP/EPM in São Paulo, Brazil. After completing her ophthalmology residency at UNIFESP, she specialized in clinical retina and uveitis and earned a PhD focused on telemedicine for ocular inflammatory diseases. Her expertise include uveitis, ocular autoimmune conditions, and molecular diagnostics—such as PCR and metagenomics—for infectious eye diseases. She has a special interest in herpesvirus-associated ocular conditions (CMV and HZO), tuberculosis-related uveitis, and the role of vaccines in preventing ocular complications, especially in immunosuppressed patients. She also studies emerging infections like Mpox and arboviruses. Dr. Finamor is a molecular biology consultant in ophthalmology at Grupo Fleury and an active member of the Brazilian Council of Ophthalmology, the Brazilian Society of Uveitis, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Pedro S. Marra is a current medical student at the University of California, San Francisco (Class of 2027). At the UCSF, he has explored his interests in infectious diseases and neurology. He has collaborated with Dr. Michael R. Wilson and Dr. Martineau Louine on a project aimed at improving the detection of TB meningitis using a targeted metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) approach. In parallel, he has worked with Dr. Alexandre R. Marra on several meta-analyses, most of which have centered on the clinical applications of mNGS. Prior to his time at the UCSF, Pedro earned his Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences with a minor in Microbiology from the University of Iowa in 2023. Throughout his four years at the University of Iowa, he conducted research with Dr. Gen Shinozaki on projects focused on improving delirium detection and understanding its pathophysiology, including epigenetic approaches.
Dr. Julia Messina Gonzaga Ferreira is an internist at the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein in São Paulo, Brazil, where she works in the emergency department and serves as a preceptor in the Internal Medicine Residency Program. She received her medical degree from the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in 2019 and completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein in 2023. Her academic interests include medical education, simulation-based training, healthcare quality, and infection control. Her current research focuses on educational interventions for healthcare professionals in low- and middle-income countries, as well as the use of technology to support infectious disease control.
Maria Celidonio Gutfreund is a medical student at the Faculdade Israelita de Ciências da Saúde Albert Einstein (FICSAE) in São Paulo, Brazil. She is actively involved in undergraduate research focusing on Infectious Diseases and Pediatrics. Her academic interests lie at the intersection of global epidemiology and child health, with a particular emphasis on preventing and diagnosing infectious diseases in pediatric populations. Maria’s research projects have addressed topics such as international infection prevention strategies in children and the development of diagnostic tools for pediatric infectious diseases.
Mariana Kim Hsieh, a Medical Doctor, is currently a research fellow at the University of Iowa Health Care (UIHC) 's Program of Hospital Epidemiology in Iowa, United States. She received her medical degree from the Faculdade Israelita de Ciências da Saúde Albert Einstein (FICSAE) in São Paulo, Brazil.
Yimeng Li is a medical student at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from California State University, Fresno, in 2022. Her research interests include ocular disease and medical devices in ophthalmology and cardiology, and she aspires to pursue a career in ophthalmology.
Dr. João Renato Rebello Pinho graduated in Medicine at the University of São Paulo (1984), obtained his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences (Biochemistry) at the University of São Paulo (1995), and is currently a Professor at the Department of Gastroenterology, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo (2015). He has developed and applied methods of molecular biology to clinical diagnosis since 1986, having held internships in France and the United States on this subject. His Ph.D. in Biochemistry at USP was on the expression of antigens of Mycobacterium leprae in yeast. He coordinated the assembly of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology at Laboratório Bioquímico Jardim Paulista in 1991, which was one of the first private laboratories in the country to use molecular biology methods for diagnosis in clinical pathology. He is currently a Medical Coordinator of Albert Einstein Diagnostic Medicine, where he coordinates the Sector of Research & Development.
Dr. Daniel J. Diekema is a Professor in the Departments of Internal Medicine and Pathology at the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine. He is Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases and serves as an Associate Hospital Epidemiologist and an Associate Director of the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. After receiving his M.D. from Vanderbilt University in 1989, he completed an Internal Medicine residency at the University of Virginia. He then completed fellowship training in Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology at the University of Iowa, during which time he completed an MS in Preventive Medicine. After three years practicing internal medicine and infectious diseases in Maine, he returned to the University of Iowa in 1998 to complete a fellowship in Medical Microbiology. He joined the faculty at Iowa in 1999. Dr. Diekema’s academic interests are in hospital epidemiology and clinical mycology. His current research interests include the control of antimicrobial-resistant bacterial pathogens (primarily MRSA and VRE), the epidemiology of invasive fungal infections in the healthcare setting, and the epidemiology of antifungal drug resistance among Candida spp.
Dr. Michael B. Edmond is currently the Chief Medical Officer at West Virginia University School of Medicine. He previously served as the Chief Quality Officer and Associate Chief Medical Officer for University of Iowa Health Care, a Clinical Professor of Infectious Diseases at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, the Richard P. Wenzel Professor of Internal Medicine, Chair of the Division of Infectious Diseases, and a Hospital Epidemiologist at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. He is a graduate of the West Virginia University School of Medicine (MD), the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health (MPH), and the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Government and Public Affairs (MPA). He was a resident and chief resident in Internal Medicine at West Virginia University Hospitals. He then completed a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and a fellowship in Hospital Epidemiology at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Dr. Edmond’s areas of research focus on the epidemiology of healthcare-associated infections and the public policy implications of infection prevention.
Dr. Alexandre R. Marra is a researcher at the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, Brazil, and a permanent professor in the Postgraduate Program at the Faculdade Israelita de Ciências da Saúde Albert Einstein (FICSAE). He received his medical degree from the Faculdade de Ciências Médicas de Santos (FCMS) in 1996. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the Universidade Federal de São Paulo/Escola Paulista de Medicina (UNIFESP/EPM), finishing in 2000. He went on to earn a master’s degree in Infectious Diseases at UNIFESP/EPM in 2002, followed by a PhD in Infectious Diseases from the same institution in 2004. Following his doctoral studies, he completed postdoctoral training in Hospital Epidemiology at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) from 2004 to 2005 and at the University of Iowa from 2016 to 2020. Dr. Marra’s academic interests lie in infectious disease prevention and hospital epidemiology. His current research focuses on the epidemiology of healthcare-associated infections, including bloodstream infections, hand hygiene practices, and infection control strategies in intensive care units. He also serves as an Associate Editor for Antimicrobial
Stewardship and Healthcare Epidemiology (ASHE), a journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA).
