St. Jude Research
Department of Host-Microbe Interactions

Center for Infectious Diseases Research

Providing an institutional hub for collaboration among all researchers interested in host-microbe interactions and pediatric catastrophic infectious diseases.

About the Center

Infectious diseases are the leading cause of death for children under five globally. Antimicrobial resistance further compounds this threat and complicates treatment options in both healthy and vulnerable pediatric patient populations. To address these critical challenges in infection biology, the Center for Infectious Diseases Research (CIDR) was created to foster collaboration among St. Jude investigators interested in pediatric catastrophic infectious diseases. As a partnership between the Department of Host-Microbe Interactions and the Department of Infectious Diseases, CIDR aims to enhance fundamental science initiatives by integrating clinical expertise and translational research.

The mission of CIDR is to unite multidisciplinary researchers across St. Jude to capitalize on innovative, collaborative, and impactful projects that advance the understanding, detection, prevention, and treatment of infectious diseases. 

CIDR Initiatives and Impact

CIDR has supported 10 collaborative pilot projects involving over 10 departments across St. Jude that cover a range of high-impact research topics such as:

  • Identification of virulence factors in emerging pathogens
  • Development of high-throughput platforms for the discovery of novel antimicrobial molecules
  • Engineering of monoclonal antibodies targeting influenza
  • Investigation of the mechanisms underlying antibiotic treatment failure in pediatric infections using patient-derived strains
  • Development of novel preclinical models to study infectious agents

CIDR funding offers catalytic support for foundational experiments designed to spur larger collaborative grants and translational research pipelines.

Affiliations

CIDR Framework

The CIDR framework emphasizes a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach organized around four major priority programs: Host, Microbe, Environment, and Cures/Preventives. Each program is anchored in comprehensive, fundamental science designed to utilize clinical samples, clinical data, and core resources. The programs and pipelines generate new knowledge, therapeutics, preventives, and diagnostics to address the most pressing challenges in infection biology.

About the Director

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    Victor J. Torres, PhD

    Member, St. Jude Faculty

    Chair, Host-Microbe Interactions

    Dr. Victor J. Torres joined St. Jude in 2023 as the founding Chair of the Department of Host-Microbe Interactions. Previously, he founded and directed the Antimicrobial-Resistant Pathogens Program at NYU Grossman School of Medicine while also serving as the C.V. Starr Professor of Microbiology. Over the last 15 years, Torres has worked closely with industrial partners to translate his discoveries on Staphylococcus aureus virulence mechanisms into candidate vaccines and biologics. In 2023, Torres founded CIDR as a vehicle to accelerate research in catastrophic pediatric infectious diseases at St. Jude.

    Victor J. Torres, PhD

    Member, St. Jude Faculty

    Chair, Host-Microbe Interactions

    View Full Profile Explore Victor Torres' research

    Affiliations

    Department of Host-Microbe Interactions

    St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

    Research Interests

    • Host-pathogen interactions
    • Staphylococcus aureus biology
    • Toxin biology
    • Development of novel therapeutics against multidrug resistant pathogens

    Short Biography

    Dr. Victor J. Torres joined St. Jude in 2023 as the founding Chair of the Department of Host-Microbe Interactions. Previously, he founded and directed the Antimicrobial-Resistant Pathogens Program at NYU Grossman School of Medicine while also serving as the C.V. Starr Professor of Microbiology. Over the last 15 years, Torres has worked closely with industrial partners to translate his discoveries on Staphylococcus aureus virulence mechanisms into candidate vaccines and biologics. In 2023, Torres founded CIDR as a vehicle to accelerate research in catastrophic pediatric infectious diseases at St. Jude.

    Contact Information

    Victor J. Torres, PhD

    Host-Microbe Interactions

    MS 221, Room D2038D

    St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

    262 Danny Thomas Place

    Memphis, TN 38105-3678

    (901) 595-6555 (phone)

Executive Committee Members

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    Octavio Ramilo, MD

    Member, St. Jude Faculty

    Octavio Ramilo, MD

    Member, St. Jude Faculty

    Chair, Department of Infectious Diseases

    View Full Profile Explore Octavio Ramilo's research

    Affiliations

    Department of Infectious Diseases

    Research Interests

    • Viral respiratory infections
    • Early life immunity
    • Application of systems analysis tools in the clinical setting

    Contact Information

    Octavio Ramilo, MD

    Infectious Diseases

    MS 320, Room E8050

    St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

    262 Danny Thomas Place

    Memphis, TN 38105-3678

    (901) 595-3494 (phone)

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    Stacey L. Schultz-Cherry, PhD

    Member, St. Jude Faculty

    Stacey L. Schultz-Cherry, PhD

    Member, St. Jude Faculty

    Deputy Director, World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals and Birds

    Senior Associate Dean, Student and Faculty Affairs

    View Full Profile Explore Stacey Schultz-Cherry's research

    Affiliations

    Department of Host-Microbe Interactions

    St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

    WHO Collaborating Centres for Influenza

    Research Interests

    • Influenza virus pathogenesis
    • Astrovirus pathogenesis
    • Novel vaccines and therapeutics
    • Microbial co-infections

    Short Biography

    Stacey Schultz-Cherry, PhD is a Full Member (Professor) in the Department of Host-Microbe Interactions at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN where she serves as the Co-Director for the NIAID-funded Center for Excellence in Influenza Research and Response (CEIRR) and Co-Director for the NIAID-funded Collaborative Influenza Vaccine Innovation Center (CIVIC). She received her PhD in Molecular and Cellular Pathology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and did postdoctoral training in influenza virology at the University of Wisconsin. Before joining the faculty at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in 2009, she was a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Schultz-Cherry is recognized internationally for her studies on the pathogenesis influenza and enteric viruses in high risk populations and influenza at the animal-human interface. Dr. Schultz-Cherry is the author and co-author of over 200 research articles, reviews and book chapters, is the past President of the American Society for Virology, and the current chair of the Public and Scientific Affairs Committee for the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). 

    Contact Information

    Stacey L. Schultz-Cherry, PhD

    Host-Microbe Interactions

    MS 320, Room E8053

    St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

    262 Danny Thomas Place

    Memphis, TN 38105-3678

    (901) 595-6629 (phone)

    (901) 595-3099 (fax)

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    Asunción Mejías, MD, PhD, MsCS

    Member, St. Jude Faculty

    Asunción Mejías, MD, PhD, MsCS

    Member, St. Jude Faculty

    View Full Profile Explore Asunción Mejías's research

    Affiliations

    Department of Infectious Diseases

    Research Interests

    • Viral respiratory infections
    • Perinatal infections including CMV and HSV
    • Data science
    • Integration of immune parameters with patient’s clinical phenotype

    Contact Information

    Asunción Mejías, MD, PhD, MsCS

    Infectious Diseases

    MS 320, Room E8051

    St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

    262 Danny Thomas Place

    Memphis, TN 38105-3678

    (901) 595-5206 (phone)

Administration Team

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    Jessica Bordwell

    Director of Operations

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    Shelly Burrow

    Administrative Director

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    Ashley DuMont, PhD

    Scientific Writer

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    Julian Earl

    Program Manager

Members

Contact us

Julian Earl
Department of Host Microbe Interactions
MS 221, Room D2006H
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

262 Danny Thomas Place
Memphis, TN, 38105-3678 USA
julian.earl@stjude.org