Infectious Disease Expert to Speak at ESU on HIV/AIDS Research in Kenya

Posted by: admin on September 19, 2013, No Comments

An infectious disease specialist who led U.S. efforts to fight HIV/ AIDS in Kenya will speak at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania (ESU) on Friday, September 20. Dr. Ginamarie Foglia, director of clinical development for the vaccine company Sanofi Pasteur Inc. in Swiftwater, will talk about her work in Kenya and Madagascar 10-11 a.m. in Room 415 of Stroud Hall on ESU’s campus.

From 2000 to 2005, Foglia served with the U.S. Army Medical Corps, first doing research at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Rockville, Md. and then working on HIV/AIDS in Kenya. There she researched vaccines and led the U.S. Military HIV/AIDS program which is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense. She was appointed the Defense Department’s representative on the Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in Kenya and advised the Kenyan Ministry of Health and the U.S. Embassy.

Dr. Kimberly S. Adams, ESU associate professor of political science, invited Foglia to speak to students in her Women and Politics class on the topic of “Women Lending a Helping Hand Globally.”

“I think that students learn best when they can see professionals in the field and therefore, they realize their own potential,” Adams said. “Such encounters allow them to witness the practical application of what they’re learning in a classroom.”

“One of the key components for the course is to expose students to female leaders and global advocates who have worked on behalf of women and children through non-governmental organizations and through private partnerships,” Adams said.

Before joining Sanofi Pasteur, Foglia was the medical director of Infectious Disease Consulting and Infection Control at the Pocono Medical Center. She is board certified in both internal medicine and infectious diseases, and is a medical epidemiologist and an adjunct associate professor at the Commonwealth Medical College in Scranton. She earned a master’s of public health in infectious and chronic disease epidemiology from Yale University and her doctor of osteopathic medicine degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. She completed a public health fellowship at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Ga. and served her residency at the West Virginia University Medical Center.

Since 2007, Foglia has worked for Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi, a global leader in the vaccine industry.

The public is welcome to attend Foglia’s presentation free of charge. For more information, please contact Dr. Adams at 570-422-3924.