Catera Wilder, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences at the University of California San Francisco and Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator. She received her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University (2016) under the direction of Manu Platt. As a UCLA Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Alexander Hoffmann (2016-2022) she focused on understanding innate immune and inflammatory responses by studying ISGF3 transcription factor dynamic regulation using a systems biology approach.

My research interests focus on defining the roles and the mechanisms of enzymes and other challenging proteins in complex biological processes and on developing technologies to facilitate these studies. The current research in the Craik lab focuses on the chemical biology of proteolytic and protein degradation enzymes, receptors and membrane transporters. A particular emphasis of our work is on identifying the roles and regulating the activity of key proteins associated with infectious diseases, neurodegeneration and cancer.

Craig Cohen, MD, MPH, is a Professor in the UCSF Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, and an Attending Physician at San Francisco General Hospital. From 2016-2022 he was the co-Director of the University of California Global Health Institute (UCGHI: www.ucghi.universityofcalifornia.edu).

Dr. Daniel H. Lowenstein is a Distinguished Professor of Neurology Education in the Department of Neurology and former Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost at the University of California, San Francisco ( UCSF).

I am an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and the Director of the Microbiology Teaching Laboratory in the School of Medicine. I also have a joint appointment in the Department of Cell and Tissue Biology in the School of Dentistry. Prior to arriving at UCSF, I was a Research Associate in bacterial pathogenesis at Stanford University, Visiting Professor at Swarthmore College, and Program Director of Sciences and Technology and Instructor at Berkeley Extension.

Dr. Elizabeth E. Rogers is a neonatologist and Director of the ROOTS Small Baby Programs in the Intensive Care Nursery at UCSF Mission Bay. She specializes in neuroprotective care and neurodevelopmental outcomes for critically ill infants in the intensive care nursery of UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital. Her research focuses on developmental and social-behavioral outcomes for these infants and aims to identify protective and risk factors. She also serves as the Associate Vice Chair for Faculty Development and the Chief Experience Officer in the Department of Pediatrics.

My research explores the intricate transcriptional regulatory forces that guide dental epithelial cells to commit to the ameloblast lineage—master architects of the hardest tissue in the human body. Once their enamel-secreting mission is complete, these cells undergo a remarkable transformation into junctional epithelial cells, forming a critical barrier that safeguards the health of the gingival sulcus. I also aim to clarify the roles of the junctional epithelium in innate immunity to effectively combat periodontal pathogens.