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Dr. Gaddy is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC).  Her research focuses on how the host responds to infection of the reproductive tract, specifically in the context of pregnancy.  Her latest work demonstrates that the bacterial pathogen Group B Streptococcus can highjack placental macrophage cells as a Trojan horse to ascend the gravid reproductive tract and cross the placenta to infect the developing fetus.  Dr. Gaddy’s current research program seeks to understand the host and environmental factors that contribute to susceptibility to perinatal infections and also to elucidate the antimicrobial molecules produced in human breast milk.  Dr. Gaddy would bring expertise in bacterial pathogenesis, innate immunity, and reproductive immunology and she utilizes cutting-edge techniques such as high-resolution imaging modalities (including electron microscopy), primary cell and tissue models, organ-on-a-chip models, preclinical animal models of disease, and multi-omics techniques in her research.  She has authored over 130 peer-reviewed manuscripts and is the Director of the Pre3 Initiative (Preventing Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes and Prematurity) and the Co-Director of the Women’s Reproductive Health Research Center at VUMC.  Dr. Gaddy is also a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Next Gen Pregnancy Awardee and a Fellow in the American Academy of Microbiology.

Dr. Amy Gillgrass is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Dalhousie in Halifax, Canada.  Prior to this position, she had a lab at McMaster University (2019-2024), worked in Biotech and attained her PhD from McMaster University in Infection and Immunity.  Dr. Gillgrass’s research program involves immunology and infectious disease, with a focus on understanding immune responses and assessing novel therapeutics to prevent sexually transmitted infections in the female reproductive tract (HIV, HSV-2) using standard mice and next-generation humanized mouse models. In addition, she works on HIV/TB co-infection and vaccine development.  Her work is funded by Canadian health agencies including CIHR and CANFAR with high impact publications in Cell, NPJ Vaccines, Viruses and Frontiers in Immunology.  As an early career researcher, Dr. Gillgrass received the Bhagirath Singh Early Career Award in Infection and Immunity (CIHR) and the E.J. Moran Campbell Career Research Award.

Dr. Gillgrass has been part of ASRI meetings on and off for the last 20 years, first as a trainee and now as a PI.  She has presented at the meeting, been on the organizing committee, proposed and chaired sessions, been a member of the Awards Committee for several years and served on the Editorial Board of AJRI since 2019.  If elected as councillor, Dr. Gillgrass will promote the involvement of early career researchers in the society and maintain the welcoming and supportive environment of the ASRI meetings to help support the growth of investigators and promote collaborations.  Dr. Gillgrass would love to serve ASRI in this role.