Fikadu Tafesse named chair of the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology 

OHSU School of Medicine Dean Nathan Selden, M.D., Ph.D., is pleased to announce that after a competitive national search, Fikadu Tafesse, Ph.D., professor, has accepted the position as chair of the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, or MMI, effective Monday, Feb. 9. 

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The Molecular Microbiology & Immunology department is pleased to welcome Lauren Rodda, Ph.D. as an assistant professor as of September 2023. Dr. Rodda’s research focuses on how resident memory B cells interact with their tissue niche in the respiratory tract to provide rapid, cross-reactive protection against repeat infection with respiratory pathogens including RSV, SARS-CoV-2 and influenza. In her prior work, Dr. Rodda delineated the diverse stromal populations that organize B cells functions in lymph nodes and defined the features of SARS-CoV-2-specific immune memory that distinguish infection-imprinted from vaccination-induced immunity. The Rodda Lab will employ antigen-specific flow cytometry, high-parameter microscopy and transcriptomics to study tissue resident memory B cells in both clinical samples and experimental models. Dr. Rodda’s long-term goal is to use these translational findings to inform transmission-reducing respiratory virus vaccines and reveal new therapeutic targets for lung pathologies such as asthma and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Rodda Lab