CEND Newsletter - No 1

From left: Noah Baker (Fellowship Alum), Drew Ramos (2025 Fellow), Laurent Coscoy (CEND Associate Faculty Director), Sydnee Gould (2025 Fellow), Zaina Moussa (2025 Fellow), Hannah Nilsson (Fellowship Alum), Grace Toolsie (2025 Fellow), Kate Roberts (CEND Executive Director), Leen Arnaout (2025 Fellow), Felix Pahlmeier (2025 Fellow), Zahra Zubair-Nizami (2025 Fellow), Jeff Cox (CEND Faculty Director. Missing: Lena Blackmon (2025 Fellow)

Welcome to the CEND Newsletter! As the Henry Wheeler Center for Emerging and Neglected Diseases continues to grow, we're launching this newsletter to keep you connected to our community and the exciting work happening across our three pillars: training the next generation of scientists and global health leaders, fostering collaboration across disciplines and institutions, and translating research into real-world impact for emerging and neglected diseases. We're thrilled to share updates on our fellows and faculty, and upcoming opportunities to engage with CEND.

At CEND, education and training is a core pillar of our mission. Our fellowship program supports graduate students working on emerging and neglected diseases everywhere: from laboratory benches developing new diagnostics and treatments, to disease-endemic communities implementing solutions. They're tackling diseases that disproportionately affect marginalized populations, building international partnerships, and developing the expertise needed to transform how the world fights infectious disease.

Our named fellowships honor generous donors who share our vision of a world where scientific excellence drives health equity. The 2025 fellows join an inspiring legacy of CEND alumni who have published breakthrough research, secured competitive grants, advanced to leadership positions in academia and global health.

Visit our LinkedIn page for more details about each CEND Fellow and their research.

Dr. Sarah Stanley featured on Basic Science Lights the Way

Dr. Stanley presented her work “Decoding Immune Protection Against Tuberculosis” on Berkeley’s Basic Science Lights the Way podcast.

• Dr. Stanley’s presentation
  Basic Science Lights the Way highlights

• Basic Science Lights the Way episode

Dr. Charles Whittaker's work on  vaccines for pandemic prevention and response

The research modeled the impact of vaccines designed to protect against a wide range of coronaviruses could dramatically reduce deaths and economic disruption and limit the need for lockdowns in the event of another global coronavirus pandemic.

Learn more

Dr. Dan Fletcher elected to the National Academy of Medicine

CEND Affiliate and Professor of Cell Biology, Development, and Physiology,  Dan Fletcher was recognized "For the development of mobile phone-based microscopy to diagnose infectious diseases in developing countries, and for contributions to the mechanistic understanding of biological self-assembly and mechanotransduction." Read more

CEND welcomes new Executive Director

Dr. Kathryn Roberts will focus on building partnerships, multidisciplinary collaboration, and translating research into real-world impact. With two decades of global experience, she specializes in implementation science approaches that strengthen health systems and advance infectious disease surveillance and response through locally-led collaboration. Please reach out to connect!