Ben G. Raimer, MD, MA, FAAP
Ben G. Raimer, MD, MA, FAAP
President ad interim
The University of Texas Medical Branch
This membership (by invitation only) meeting is scheduled for December 17th.
The meeting will be held from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. via Zoom.
Over the past three decades, Dr. Ben Raimer has held numerous academic and administrative positions at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. Most recently, he was appointed president ad interim in September 2019. A tenured professor in the departments of Pediatrics, Family Medicine, and Preventive Medicine and Community Health, Dr. Raimer was previously named senior vice president for the Office of Health Policy and Legislative Affairs in 2008. In 2016, he also assumed the role as executive director of the UTMB Community and Global Health Collaborating Center. Prior to 2008, he served as vice president for the UTMB Office of Community Outreach, as chief physician executive and CEO of UTMB Correctional Managed Care, as medical director of the UTMB Primary Care Outpatient Clinics, as CEO for Community Health Services, and as chief physician executive for UT-MED (The Group Practice of Medicine at UTMB).
Dr. Raimer is a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatrics and a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He holds an undergraduate degree in biology from East Texas Baptist University, a master’s degree in human genetics from the UTMB Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and a doctorate from the UTMB School of Medicine. Since completing an internship and residency in pediatrics at UTMB in 1977, he has provided community-based medical care to scores of young patients living in Galveston and neighboring counties. He is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Much of his practice has been devoted to the evaluation and treatment of children and adolescents with behavioral disorders and learning disabilities. Dr. Raimer is a nationally recognized expert and author on prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect, and he has been honored by several state and national children’s advocacy organizations for his contributions. He also has extensive experience in health care practice management, correctional health care, and telemedicine and has published numerous articles on these topics also.
Dr. Raimer is a member of the Texas Pediatric Society Executive Board and President-Elect of TPS. He serves as chair of the Texas Health Institute Board of Directors, and the East Texas Baptist University Board of Trustees. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and serves as a commissioner on the BGCT Christian Life Commission. He also serves as the chair for the Galveston County Health District United Board of Health and formerly served as chair of the Texas Statewide Health Coordinating Council for 13 years and the Health Disparities Task Force of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. He was the inaugural chair of the Texas Institute of Health Care Quality and Efficiency Board of Directors.
Dr. Raimer also served as chair of the Health and Human Services Commission Council for a term appointed by Governor Rick Perry. The council helps develop policies and rules for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and makes recommendations regarding the management and operation of the commission. With the restructuring of the HHSC enterprise, Dr. Raimer continues to serve as a member of the HHSC Advisory Council. He also holds positions on the Texas Medical Center’s Health Policy Institute Board of Directors and on the Houston HealthConnect Board of Directors.
Alan D. Barrett, PhD, DSc (Hon)
Alan D. Barrett, PhD, DSc (Hon)
John Sealy Distinguished University Chair in Vaccinology
Director, Sealy Institute for Vaccine Sciences
Director, World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Vaccine Research, Evaluation and Training for Emerging Infectious Diseases
Professor, Pathology and Microbiology & Immunology
The University of Texas Medical Branch
Dr. Barrett obtained his PhD from the University of Warwick (1983) and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (1983-1985). Subsequently, he was Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, and Head of the Molecular Microbiology Research Group at the University of Surrey (1985-1993). In 1993, Dr. Barrett moved to the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) as an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology and was promoted to Professor in 1997. He became Director of the UTMB Sealy Center for Vaccine Development (SCVD) in January 2008. In April 2014 the SCVD was designated the World Health Organization Collaborating Center (WHO CC) for Vaccine Research, Evaluation and Training for Emerging Infectious Diseases, one of seven WHO CCs for vaccines in the world, with Dr. Barrett as Director. The SCVD was re-designated Institute status, as the Sealy Institute for Vaccine Sciences, in December 2017. He was elected Fellow of the International Society for Vaccines in 2014 and Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology in 2016. In 2018 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science Degree from the University of Warwick for his significant contributions to WHO vaccine research, development and implementation.
Dr. Barrett’s research interests are the molecular basis of pathogenesis and vaccine development of flaviviruses (dengue, Japanese encephalitis, West Nile, tick-borne encephalitis, yellow fever, and Zika). His research has resulted in him authoring more than 350 papers, reviews and book chapters.
He has made several contributions to World Health Organization (WHO). He was chair of the Steering Committee on Vaccine Development for dengue and other flaviviruses (2004-2008) and has served on many WHO flavivirus vaccine working groups that prepare recommendations for the use of vaccines, including the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) Working Groups on yellow fever (2012-2013; 2016-present), dengue (2012-2018), and Japanese encephalitis vaccines (2013-2014); the Emerging Diseases Vaccine Framework Working Group (2015); and member of the Zika Vaccine Target Product Profile. He has served on many international committees, including Chair of the Scientific Advisory Panel of the Singapore Environmental Health Institute (2008-2015), member of the Scientific Advisory Group of the Pediatric Dengue Vaccine Initiative (2004-2007), and member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the STOP Dengue Translational Clinical Research Program of the National Medical Research Council, Singapore (2011-2013). Most recently he is co-organizer of the WHO Zika Roadmap Taskforce (2019-present); a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) that is developing vaccines for Ebola, Nipah, Lassa fever, MERS and SARS-CoV-2 (2016-present); and member of the flavivirus (dengue, Japanese encephalitis, tick-borne encephalitis and yellow fever) vaccine working groups of the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (2017-present).
Dr. Barrett is Founding Editor-in-Chief of Nature partner journal (npj) Vaccines (2015-present), which is the highest-ranking vaccine journal by impact factor. He is a member of the editorial boards of eight journals: Virus Research, Journal of Infectious Diseases, Journal of Medical Virology, Journal of Virological Methods, Journal of Virology, Virology, Clinical Vaccines and Immunology, and Pan Amazonian Health Journal. Finally, he has co-edited three books, including “Vaccines for Biodefense and Emerging and Neglected Diseases” with Larry Stanberry in 2008 (Academic Press); in 2015 he co-edited, with Gregg Milligan, the first student textbook on vaccines, entitled “Vaccinology: An Essential Guide,” which was published by Wiley-Blackwell.
Pei-Yong Shi, PhD
Pei-Yong Shi, PhD
John Sealy Distinguished Chair in Innovations in Molecular Biology
Vice Chair for Innovation and Commercialization
Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The University of Texas Medical Branch
Dr. Pei-Yong Shi is a virologist with a long-standing interest in RNA virus, drug discovery, and vaccine research. He earned his Ph.D. in Molecular Virology and Biochemistry from Georgia State University and completed postdoctoral training at Yale University School of Medicine.
His unique career path in a public health laboratory (New York State Department of Health for eight years), pharmaceutical companies (Novartis and Bristol-Myers Squibb for a total of 10 years), and academia (UTMB and Yale for nine years) allows his work to focus on the interface between basic and translational research.
He has published over 300 peer-reviewed papers in leading journals in biomedical research. From 2008 to 2015, he served as Executive Director to lead Novartis’ drug discovery for tropical diseases.
Dr. Shi joined UTMB in 2015 as the I.H. Kempner Professor of Human Genetics in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He was named the inaugural John Sealy Distinguished Chair in Innovations in Molecular Biology in 2020. He also serves as Adjunct Full Professor for the Graduate Medical School of Duke-National University of Singapore.
Scott Weaver, MS, PhD
Scott C. Weaver, MS, PhD
John Sealy Distinguished University Chair in Human Infections & Immunity
Chair, Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Director, Institute for Human Infections & Immunity
Scientific Director, Galveston National Laboratory
The University of Texas Medical Branch
Dr. Scott C. Weaver is Director of the Institute for Human Infections & Immunity (IHII), Scientific Director of the Galveston National Laboratory, and Chair of the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, ranked first nationally among its peers for National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding. Dr. Weaver currently holds the John Sealy Distinguished University Chair in Human Infections and Immunity. He directs three major NIH- and CDC-funded center grants at UTMB: The Western Gulf Center of Excellence for Vector-borne Diseases, the West African Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, and the World Reference Center for Emerging Viruses and Arboviruses.
Dr. Weaver is an internationally recognized virologist and mosquito biologist with more than 350 publications in prestigious scientific journals, many invited presentations at international meetings, and international leadership roles. He has received many awards from and holds leadership positions in a number of national and international scientific societies and professional organizations, including the Walter Reed Medal from the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene for career research contributions, and the Robert Gallo Award for Scientific Excellence from the Global Virus Network. Dr. Weaver is also a fellow of the American Academy of Inventors in recognition of his contributions to vaccine development, and a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. He holds nine patents for vaccine and diagnostics development for viral diseases.
Dr. Weaver’s high stature in the scientific community is also indicated by his service on many national and international committees and study sections, as well as his many editorial appointments, including as editor for PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, PLoS Pathogens, the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and the Archives of Virology.
Dr. Weaver teaches and mentors young scientists extensively, and was named the Leon Bromberg Professor of Excellence in Teaching. He earned his BS degree from the College of William and Mary in 1979, his MS degree in entomology from Cornell University in 1982, and his PhD degree in virology from the University of California, San Diego in 1993. Following a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale University School of Medicine, he joined the UTMB faculty in 1994.
