Stefan Kappe, PhD
Myron M. Levine, MD, DTPH Professor of Vaccinology, Department of Pediatrics
Director of the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health
Vice Chair of Translational Research in Pediatrics

Dr. Kappe joined the CVD as director in February of 2026. Dr. Kappe’s laboratory research focuses on understanding the complex transmission biology and pathobiology of malaria parasites and host immune responses to parasite infection, with the goal of designing interventions that are more effective than current malaria treatments and vaccines. Dr. Kappe is internationally known for his research on elucidating the molecular determinants of parasite development in the liver and his pioneering work on genetic engineering of parasites, which has led to the development of a highly efficacious live-attenuated vaccine candidate currently in clinical trials.

Eileen Barry, PhD
Director of Education

Dr. Barry is Professor of Medicine in the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health. She is a molecular microbiologist with over 20 years of experience identifying mechanisms of bacterial pathogenesis using novel model systems and developing vaccines. Her focus has been on the enteric pathogens Shigella and ETEC, which are responsible for significant global diarrheal disease burden. She is committed to training the next generation of biomedical scientists and leads a team that includes graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.

James D. Campbell, MD, MS
Interim Division Head of Pediatric Infectious Disease and Tropical Pediatrics

Dr. Campbell has been a faculty member at the University of Maryland School of Medicine since 2001. From 2007 to 2012, he lived and worked in Uganda for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mainly in the field of HIV prevention and care. He is one of two Senior Vice Chairs of the Institutional Review Board and Director of the University of Maryland Baltimore Clinical Research Training and Mentoring Program. He is a member of the Committee on Infectious Diseases (COID or “Red Book Committee”) for the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Wilbur H. Chen, MD, MS
Chief for the Geographic Medicine Division

Dr. Chen is an adult infectious disease physician-scientist with a specific interest in developing vaccines. He is Chief of the Adult Clinical Studies section within the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health and Director of the UMB Travel Medicine Practice. His research is concentrated on two broad areas of global health. First, he is devoted to developing vaccines for enteric pathogens, infectious diseases chiefly of resource poor and economically disadvantaged countries and populations. Second, he is interested in improved vaccines for the elderly, a rapidly growing segment of the global population which is susceptible to many infections and a special population that generally responds poorly to vaccination.

Matthew B. Laurens, MD, MPH
Associate Director for Clinical Research

Dr. Laurens is Professor of Pediatrics, Medicine, and Pathology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. A pediatric infectious diseases physician and vaccinologist, Dr. Laurens has dedicated his career to developing and evaluating vaccines to prevent infectious diseases, particularly malaria and typhoid fever. He leads global clinical research programs and has played key roles in advancing novel vaccines through clinical trials and controlled human infection models. His work seeks to accelerate the development of new tools to combat infectious diseases while improving the health of vulnerable populations worldwide and fostering the next generation of leaders in global health and vaccinology.

Marcelo Sztein, MD
Associate Director for Basic and Translational Research

Dr. Sztein is Professor of Pediatrics and Associate Director for Immunologic Studies. He established the Immunology Group to centralize and expand interdisciplinary efforts in translational research, a “bench to bedside” program with the ultimate goal of accelerating vaccine development and usage. He is an accomplished investigator in the area of immunology of infectious diseases and cytokine immunobiology. Dr. Sztein is a recognized international authority in the study of the human host systemic and mucosal immune responses to vaccination (with or without adjuvants) and the identification of immunological mechanisms of protection from infection in human and animal models, particularly in the field of infectious enteric diseases.  Projects encompass the study of systemic and gastrointestinal mucosal immune responses in volunteers participating in challenge studies and in vaccine trials of genetically engineered vaccine strains such as attenuated Salmonella Typhi and Shigella (alone or as a carrier of foreign genes), Vibrio cholerae,  Enteroaggregative E. coli, Plasmodium falciparum, Salmonella Paratyphi A and B, non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS), invasive NTS, Dengue virus, Francisella tularensis, influenza, hepatitis and Ebola.

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