Our People

Myron Cohen, MD, Director

Myron Cohen directs the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases and is Yeargan-Bates Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology and Epidemiology. He also serves the University as Associate Vice Chancellor for Global Health and Medical Affairs. Dr. Cohen served for 30 years as chief of UNC’s Division of Infectious Diseases before stepping down in 2019.  His research focuses on the transmission and prevention of HIV with emphasis on the role played by STD co-infections. He is co-principal investigator for the global HIV Prevention Trials Network, or HPTN. He was the architect and principal investigator of the multinational HPTN 052 study, which demonstrated that antiretroviral treatment prevents the sexual transmission of HIV-1. Learn more.

Jonathan Juliano, MD, Associate Director

Jonathan Juliano is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Associate Program Director of the Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program. He leads a molecular parasitology and genetics lab known as IDEEL (Infectious Diseases Epidemiology and Ecology Laboratory). With over a decade of experience working overseas and in programmatic development, Juliano brings skills in strategic planning to the leadership team, with interest in strengthening the research infrastructure. Learn more.

Jeff Stringer, MD, Associate Director for Research

Jeff Stringer is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Director of UNC’s Division of Global Women’s Health. Between 2001 and 2012, he lived full-time in Lusaka, Zambia, where he established and led the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia. His research focuses on prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission, clinical epidemiology, and obstetrical outcomes. Stringer has served as PI for over $190 million in grant and contract funding and currently holds active grants from the NIH, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Learn more.

Joe Eron, MD, Associate Director for Infectious Diseases Clinical Trials

Joe Eron is the Herman and Louise Smith Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Principal Investigator of the HIV/AIDS Clinical Research Unit at UNC-CH, and the Director of the Clinical Core for the UNC Center for AIDS Research (CFAR). He has been part of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group since 1993 and has held multiple leadership positions including Chair of the Optimization of ART Committee and the Cure Transformative Science Group. He is the Principal Investigator of the UNC Clinical trials Unit with sites in Chapel Hill, Greensboro, Lilongwe, Malawi and Hanoi, Vietnam. In addition, he is a leader of the UNC Acute HIV Infection research team and a collaborator in the UNC HIV Cure initiative. Learn more.

Michael Herce, MD, MPH, MSc, Associate Director of Operations

Michael Herce is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in Infectious Diseases and Director of Implementation Science at the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ). His clinical work includes HIV care, tropical medicine, and tuberculosis management. His research interests are in global health equity, clinical and public health program implementation, and issues of access to HIV prevention, treatment and care for key and marginalized populations in sub-Saharan Africa. He supports the Institute’s fundraising, strategy development, and partnership building, particularly with local governments and NGO partners. He also promotes and coordinates synergies between the Institute, the Division of Infectious Diseases, and pan-university global health researchers. Learn more.

Suzanne Maman, PhD, Associate Director for Education

Suzanne Maman is Associate Dean for Global Health in the Gillings School of Global Public Health. As a professor of health behavior, she co-leads the Master of Public Health Program’s global health concentration, which she helped to develop. She also serves as the UNC faculty director at the Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Center. A national and international leader in global health research, practice and education, Maman’s work for the past 20 years has focused on the intersection of intimate partner violence and HIV/AIDS. Her work in Tanzania and South Africa has demonstrated how violence increases women’s risks for HIV infection, and how an HIV diagnosis may affect women’s experiences with violence. Programs she has developed, implemented and evaluated with global colleagues and community partners have helped mitigate women’s risks from both violence and HIV/AIDS. Learn more.

Irving Hoffman, PA, MPH, Director of International Operations

Irving Hoffman is Professor of Medicine, International Director of UNC Project-Malawi, and Director of International Operations for the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases. For the past 25 years, he has worked tirelessly to ensure Malawians who seek specialty training in clinical medicine receive the training they need to work in Malawi’s academic or public settings. Among the 13 Malawians who have completed training, 12 are currently practicing in Malawi. A new library on the Project-Malawi campus honors Hoffman’s passion for making an education available to all. Learn more.

Joseph Tucker, MD, PhD, MA, Director of UNC-Project China

Joe Tucker is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases who has worked in China since 1999. He joined the faculty in February 2012. With a master’s degree from Harvard in Chinese Studies, Joe understands the importance of cultural competency in conducting international research. His research examines how China’s tremendous social upheaval has resulted in the resurgence of syphilis and other STIs, and how these same social forces can be marshaled to prevent and control STDs. As Director of UNC Project-China, he focuses his efforts on developing close ties with Chinese counterparts in order to spur collaborative research and training. Learn more.

Anthony Charles, MD, MPH, Director of Global Surgery

Anthony Charles is the Oliver R. Rowe Distinguished Professor of Surgery and Director of the Adult Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation Program (ECMO). In 2009, he launched the Malawi Surgical Initiative, a training program based at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe that prepares Malawian clinicians for a career in surgery. As of 2018, the MSI has increased the number of Malawian surgeons in the country from 14 to 25. The program also attracts American-trained surgeons who are passionate about global health. While the bulk of global surgery initiatives are centered in Malawi, Charles says future efforts may focus on the UNC Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases’ sites in Asia, where the need for surgeons in rural areas is great. Learn more.

Benjamin Chi, MD, MSc, Associate Director of Fellowship Programs

Benjamin Chi is Professor of Global Women's Health with appointments in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Department of Epidemiology. He has retained strong collaborative ties with the University of Zambia and the Zambian Ministry of Health, after living in Lusaka, Zambia, from 2003 to 2015, where he developed an extensive research portfolio focused on the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), HIV care and treatment, and maternal-child health.

Yuri Fedoriw, MD, Director of Global Cancer Pathology

Yuri Fedoriw is the Labcorp Distinguished Professor of Pathology and Lab Medicine and co-director of the UNC-Project Malawi Cancer Program. His research interests focus on the biology and classification of lymphoproliferative disorders, primarily associated with HIV infection. Collaborating with our team in Malawi, he runs weekly telepathology conferences to support both the clinical and research efforts. Clinically, he supports the selection and interpretation of immunohistochemical stains for cancer diagnosis, educating laboratory staff and pathologists, and verifying diagnoses in Chapel Hill. With new research funding, he is extending UNC’s telepathology cancer services from Malawi throughout sub-Saharan Africa, and ultimately developing a regional infrastructure for diagnosis and tissue-based studies. Learn more.

Clare Barrington, PhD, Director of Latin America Programs

Clare Barrington is Assistant Professor of Health Behavior in the Gillings School of Global Public Health. She has comprehensive global health research experience in Latin America. In addition to her research on HIV among female sex workers and their regular partners in the Dominican Republic, Barrington has led or collaborated on projects in Guatemala, El Salvador and Cuba. Recently, she has begun conducting HIV-related research among the Mexican immigrant population in North Carolina. In her leadership role at the Institute, which she assumed in 2013, Clare wants to expand research activities with Latinos in North Carolina. Learn more.

Amanda Corbett, PharmD, Global Pharmacology Coordinator

Amanda Corbett is an Associate Professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and School of Medicine. She is also a member of the UNC Center for AIDS Research and the AIDS Clinical Trials Group. She joined the UNC faculty in 2003, where her responsibilities include teaching (didactic and experiential), clinical practice in the UNC infectious diseases clinic, and clinical translational research. Corbett is a board certified pharmacotherapy specialist and is a fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy. At the Institute, she helps to facilitate and advise research, grant proposals or other projects that have a pharmacy or pharmacology component. She also coordinates educational or service-learning activities for pharmacy students interested in working internationally. Learn more.

William Fischer, MD, Director of Emerging Pathogens

William Fischer is Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary Diseases and Critical Care Medicine. With growing expertise in critical care medicine and severe viral pathogens, Fischer has been at the frontlines of UNC Health’s treatment team as COVID-19 hit North Carolina in 2020. The World Health Organization has deployed him overseas to help manage the Lassa Fever outbreak in Nigeria, Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and COVID-19 in Asia and Europe. Learn more.

Robin Criffield, Program Administrator

Robin Criffield works closely with Dr. Cohen and helps coordinate all key business areas of the Institute. She provides program management for business development and strategic planning, research program development and implementation, and general business and operations oversight as part of the leadership team. Her background is in social justice work. Prior to joining the Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases, she served as associate firector for an affordable housing program for 12 years. Criffield serves on the Orange County Human Relations Committee and is a board member of Organizing Against Racism. She brings strategic thinking, business and organizational development experience, and commitment to transformative justice to help strengthen the Institute’s work.

Nancy Archin, PhD

Nancy Archin, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine

Ralph S. Baric, PhD

Professor of Epidemiology

Clare Barrington, PhD

Associate Professor of Health Behavior

Joy Noel Baumgartner, MSSW, PhD

Associate Professor, UNC School of Social Work

Sylvia Becker-Dreps, MD, MPH

Associate Professor of Epidemiology; Director, UNC Program-Nicaragua; Associate Director, Office of International Activities

Natalie Bowman, MD, MPH

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Ross Boyce, MD, MSc

Ross Boyce, MD, MSc
Assistant Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology
Faculty Fellow, Carolina Population Center

Miriam Braunstein, PhD

Professor of Microbiology

Anthony Charles, MD, MPH

Director, Malawi Surgical Initiative, UNC Project-Malawi
Associate Professor of Surgery, School of Medicine

Xiang-Sheng Chen, MD, PhD

Professor and Deputy Director, National Center for STD Control, China CDC

Benjamin H. Chi, MD, MSc

Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology
Member, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center

Dr. Chi holds appointments in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Department of Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He lived in Lusaka, Zambia, from 2003 to 2015, where he developed an extensive research portfolio focused on the prevention of mother-to-child transmission, HIV care and treatment, and maternal-child health. He has served as PI for numerous grants funded by the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

Benjamin Chi, MD, MSc

Co-PI and UNC Program Director

Carla Chibwesha, MD, MSc

Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Stephen Cole, PhD

Professor of Epidemiology

Amanda Corbett, PharmD

Assistant Dean, Professsional Curriculum
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, Infectious Diseases Division
Associate Director of Global Engagement

Giselle Corbie-Smith, MD, PhD

Kenan Distinguished Professor of Social Medicine

Director, Center for Health Equity Research

Professor of Internal Medicine

Blossom Damania, PhD

Boshamer Distinguished Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Vice Dean for Research

Aravinda de Silva, PhD, MPH

Professor of Microbiology and Epidemiology

Ann Dennis, MD

Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases

Dirk Dittmer, PhD

Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

Alex Duncan, MD, PhD

Michael Emch, PhD

Professor of Epidemiology; Professor and Chair, Geography, Fellow, Carolina Population Center

Joseph Eron, MD

Professor and Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases
Director, Clinical Core, UNC Center for AIDS Research
Associate Director, General Clinical Research Unit
Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology

Claire Farel, MD, MPH

Assistant Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases
Medical Director, UNC Infectious Diseases Clinic
Co-Director, UNC Center for AIDS Research Clinical Core

William Fischer, MD

Elizabeth Fitzgerald, MD

Assistant Professor of Pediatric Emergency Medicine

Michelle Floris-Moore, MD

Associate Professor of Medicine
Director, Infectious Diseases Fellowship Training Program

J. Victor Garcia-Martinez, PhD

Professor of Medicine

Cynthia Gay, MD, MPH

Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases

Medical Director, UNC HIV Cure Center

Bradley Gaynes, MD, MPH

Bradley Gaynes, MD, MPH
Professor of Psychiatry, Division Head, Global Mental Health

Vivian Go, PhD

Professor of Health Behavior

William Goldman, PhD

Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

Carol Golin, MD

Associate Professor of General Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology

Mark Heise, PhD

Assistant Professor of Genetics

Gail Henderson, PhD

Professor of Social Medicine

Michael Herce, MD, MPH, MSc

Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases

Marcia Hobbs, PhD

Professor of Medicine and Microbiology Immunology

Irving Hoffman, PA, MPH

Professor of Medicine
International Director, UNC Project-Malawi
Director of International Operations, Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases

Mina Hosseinipour, MD, MPH

Professor of Medicine
Scientific Director, UNC Project-Malawi

Michael Hudgens, PhD

Professor of Biostatistics

Christopher Hurt, MD

Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases
Director, North Carolina HIV Training and Education Center
Co-Leader, UNC CFAR PrEP Scientific Working Group
UNC Site PI, Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Part D

Jonathan Juliano, MD, MSPH

Associate Professor of Medicine

Angela Kashuba, PharmD

Dean of Pharmacy
John A. and Margaret P. McNeill, Sr. Distinguished Professor
Director, Clinical Pharmacology and Analytical Chemistry Core, UNC Center for AIDS Research
Adjunct Professor, Med-Infectious Diseases

Thomas Kelley III, JD

Professor of Law and Director of Clinical Programs

Martina Kovarova, PhD

Martina Kovarova, PhD
Associate Professor of Medicine

Anne Lachiewicz, MD, MPH

Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases
Director, Immunocompromised Host Fellowship Program

Stanley M. Lemon, MD

Professor of Medicine, Microbiology & Immunology

Jessica Lin, MD

Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases

Suzanne Maman, PhD

Professor of Health Behavior, Associate Dean of Global Health

David M. Margolis, MD

Professor of Medicine, Microbiology & Immunology, Epidemiology and Director, HIV Cure Center

Benjamin Mason Meier, JD, LLM, PhD

Assistant Professor of Public Policy
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management

Katrina A. McGinty, MD

Associate Professor of Radiology
Associate Medical Director, Clinical Research Core Service

Virginia Miller, PhD

Professor of Genetics, Microbiology and Immunology; Assistant Dean of Graduate Education, School of Medicine

Cary Moody, PhD

Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

Kate Muessig, PhD

Associate Professor of Health Behavior

Sonia Napravnik, PhD

Associate Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology

Groesbeck Parham, MD

Professor of Global Women's Health

Jonathan Parr, MD, MPH

Assistant Professor of Infectious Diseases, Member, Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Ecology Lab (IDEEL)

Brian Wells Pence, PhD

Associate Professor of Epidemiology

Audrey Pettifor, PhD

Nancy Raab-Traub, PhD

Professor of Microbiology & Immunology

Bill Rutala, MS, MPH, PhD

Director, Statewide Program for Infection Control and Epidemiology

John Schmitz, PhD

Associate Professor of Pathology and Microbiology; Director of Clinical Immunology, School of Medicine

Arlene Seña, MD, MPH

Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases;
Adjunct Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health

Jennifer Smith, PhD

Associate Professor of Epidemiology; Director, Cervical Cancer-Fee Coalition

Diana Stanley, MSPH, Administrative Director for Research and Compliance

As administrative director for research and compliance, Diana Stanley oversees the finance and business operations of the Institute including more than 400 research awards which total over $50 million in research funding. Stanley has over 13 years of grant management experience with both domestic and international awards. She enjoys working closely with the Institute’s international sites management teams, problem solving and working on process improvement.

Jeff Stringer, MD

Professor & Division Director, Global Women’s Health

Lishan Su, PhD

Professor of Microbiology & Immunology

Ron Swanstrom, PhD

Professor of Biochemistry & Biophysics

Codirector, UNC Center for AIDS Research

Jennifer Tang, MD, MSCR

Associate Professor of Global Women’s Health

James Thomas, PhD

Jenny Ting, PhD

William Rand Kenan Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

Director, Center for Translational Immunology

Co-Director, Inflammatory Diseases Institute

Joseph Tucker, MD, PhD, MA

Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases; Director, UNC Project-China

David van Duin, MD, PhD

Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases
Director, Immunocompromised Host Infectious Diseases Section

Linda Van Le, MD

Leonard D. Palumbo Distinguished Professor of Gynecologic Oncology

David Weber, MD, MPH

Professor of Medicine, Pediatrics, and Epidemiology
Medical Director, UNC Hospitals’ Departments of Hospital Epidemiology (Infection Prevention)
Associate Chief Medical Officer, UNC Health Care

Becky White, MD, MPH

Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases
Co-Director of HIV Services, North Carolina Department of Corrections

David Wohl, MD

Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases
Site Leader, HIV Prevention and Treatment Clinical Trials Unit at Chapel Hill
Co-Lead, UNC Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Research Working Group