Meet the Team
The Clinical Trials Unit (CTU) is a research group within the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
Principal Investigators
Kathryn E. Stephenson, M.D., M.P.H.
- Williams College, Williamstown, MA, B.A., 1996 (Anthropology)
- Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, M.P.H., 2001
- New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, M.D., 2005
Dr. Stephenson is a physician-scientist in the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research (CVVR) and the Division of Infectious Diseases at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, Massachusetts. She is also an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She has expertise in conducting phase 1 clinical trials testing novel immunologic interventions for HIV and emerging infectious diseases like SARS-CoV-2 and Zika virus. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she was the site Principal Investigator for the first-in-human trial of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen Ad26.COV2.S COVID-19 vaccine, as well as for the Phase 3 efficacy trials of remdesivir, Novavax vaccine, and casirivimab and imdevimab monoclonal antibodies. She is currently the protocol co-chair of CoVPN 3006, the largest federally-funded study to test whether the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine can block SARS-CoV-2 transmission. This COVID-19 work complements her previous contributions in testing a mosaic Ad26-based HIV vaccine and broadly neutralizing antibodies for HIV prevention, treatment and remission. In addition, Dr. Stephenson is an outspoken advocate for increasing research equity for Black and Latinx populations in clinical trials, and is committed to ensuring access to promising medicines and vaccines for our most vulnerable communities.
Dr. Stephenson received her medical degree from New York University, and completed her internal medicine training at Columbia NY Presbyterian Hospital, followed by infectious diseases training at Mass General Brigham. She also obtained a Masters in Public Health from Columbia University where she focused on the ethics of clinical trials, isolation and quarantine.
Boris Juelg, M.D., Ph.D.
Christian Albrecht University, M.D., PhD.
Hometown: GermanyAs a physician-scientist, Dr. Juelg aims to link preclinical and clinical studies to identify and test the most promising immunological strategies to prevent and treat HIV infection. He is specifically interested in evaluating passive and active immunization approaches using broadly neutralizing antibodies and novel vaccine candidates. In close collaboration with other investigators at the Ragon Institute, Dr. Juelg is conducting phase I/II clinical trials that are testing such concepts and translating findings from the lab into the clinic.
Ai-ris Yonekura Collier, M.D.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, B.S., 2005 (Major: Biology, Minor: Chemistry)
Harvard Medical School/ Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology, Boston, MA, M.D., 2011 (Medicine)
Hometown: Mesa, AZDr. Ai-ris Yonekura Collier is a physician-scientist specializing in high-risk pregnancy care in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at BIDMC. The goal of her translational research is to characterize the maternal cellular immune phenotype in pregnancy disorders like preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction and in the setting of infectious disease like Zika virus or SARS-CoV-2. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she was Principal Investigator leading the hospital-wide COVID-19 Biorepository and a co-investigator for the Ad26.COV2.S COVID-19 vaccine booster trial. This work builds upon prior work performing longitudinal observational studies in pregnant individuals exposed or infected with Zika virus and creating large clinical biospecimen repositories for translational immunologic studies in pregnancy. In addition to the work in the CTU, she is an enthusiastic educator and advocate for inclusion of pregnant and lactating individuals in observational and interventional clinical trials.
Dr. Collier obtained her M.D. through the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology at Harvard Medical School where she spent time in the lab of Dr. Shannon Turley, evaluating a novel mechanism of cellular immune tolerance induction by lymph node stroma cells. She is using her background in immune tolerance to study the mechanisms of maternal immune tolerance to the fetus in placenta in healthy and complicated pregnancies. As a Maternal-Fetal Medicine clinician, she represents a cross-disciplinary collaboration between the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the CVVR.
Clinical Research Nurse Practioners
Maura Galligan Crowther RN, MSN, FNP-C
Boston College, BSN University of Massachusetts Boston, MSN-FNPHometown: Salem, MA | Pronouns: She/her/hers
Maura is a Clinical Research Nurse Practitioner who joined the CVVR in 2022. Her interest in infectious disease, disease prevention, and global health issues is what drew her to the CVVR and she is thrilled to be part of a team dedicated to advancing research and making positive impacts in these areas. Maura graduated with her Bachelor’s in Nursing from Boston College in 1998 and her Master’s in Nursing from UMass Boston in 2006. She began her BIDMC nursing career as an RN in the Obstetrics Department and also worked in the medical center’s Post-Acute Care Transitions program. As a Nurse Practitioner, she worked for several years providing primary care at North Shore Community Health and then went on to work in College Health. Just prior to joining the CVVR, she was the Clinical Lead for the Ambulatory COVID testing site here at BIDMC. She is a proud mom to her son and, in her free time, she enjoys being outdoors and traveling near and far with her family.
Valerie Haines, RN, MSN, WHNP-BC
University of New Hampshire, BSN Boston College, MSNHometown: Hanover, New Hampshire | Pronouns: She/her/hers
Valerie is a Clinical Research Nurse Practitioner and joined the CVVR in 2022. After graduating with her BSN from UNH, Valerie was a staff nurse at Franciscan Children’s Hospital as well as Boston Children’s Hospital in their Emergency Department. She then went back to school, earning her MSN from Boston College and became a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner. She joined the staff at Wellesley College Health Services where she also trained. She enjoys the outdoors, playing soccer, knitting, and spending time with her family.
Clinical Research Nurse
Audrey Nathanson, RN, BSN, CRN-BC
State University of New York at Buffalo, BSNHometown: New York City, NY
Audrey is inspired by the many patients and research volunteers she’s cared for and guided through their experience with illness and/or their participation in research trials. After graduating from the State University of New York at Buffalo’s School of Nursing, Audrey began her career at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Her earliest experiences as a young nurse were caring for some of the first people presenting with signs and symptoms of a mysterious, unknown disease, variously diagnosed as Fever of Unknown Origin (FUO), CMV, Pneumocystis pneumonia or Kaposi Sarcoma. What came to be known as AIDS. After moving to Boston, Audrey worked in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Beth Israel Hospital where she was exposed to the research world with the many cutting edge interventional cardiac studies (PTCA, tPA, streptokinase), that were conducted at that time. Audrey took her interest in research to the Clinical Research Center at BIDMC where as a staff nurse coordinator and later, project manager, she helped implement trials in Infectious Disease, Neurology, Endocrine, Interventional Pulmonary, Sleep Medicine, and Breast Imaging. Audrey joined Dr. Stephenson’s study team as a Clinical Research Nurse Coordinator in 2021 after working with her team during the COVID-19 pandemic on the Remdesivir and Novavax vaccine trials. Audrey enjoys collaborating with research nurses across the Harvard system and beyond, and is currently doing so as an active member in the Boston-New England Chapter of the International Association of Clinical Research Nurses serving on the Board and Advisory Board of Directors.
When Audrey isn’t working you might find her riding her bike, snorkeling, watching sunsets, reading, planning her next trip and being walked by her golden retriever, Daisy.
Clinical Research Coordinators
Ritobhas (Ricky) Bhowmik
Boston University, BA in Biology with a minor in ChemistryHometown: Richmond, Virginia / New Delhi, India | Pronouns he/him/his
During his undergraduate years, he worked as a medical assistant in the Hematology/Oncology clinic at BIDMC and volunteered as a patient experience volunteer in the Faar inpatient buildings. He regularly volunteers at the Boston Red Cross Food Pantry on the weekends and has served as the volunteer coordinator for Boston University Red Cross Volunteers since 2021. His research at Boston University Medical School focused on the molecular mechanisms of airway disorders using zebrafish and frog embryos at the Garcia-Marcos Lab. While at the Center for Regenerative Medicine, he worked as an undergraduate research assistant in the Hawkins Lab studying rare airway disorders using induced pluripotent stem cells. His career goal is to pursue a career in medicine to advance medical research and improve healthcare access for underserved populations. In his free time, he enjoys playing soccer with his friends, hosting soccer watch parties, experimenting with new recipes, and exploring new hiking trails.
Anthony Lee
Harvard College, BA in NeuroscienceHometown: Wilmington, DE
Anthony is a graduate of Harvard College where he majored in neuroscience and conducted research on Parkinson’s disease. He joined the Stephenson group as a Clinical Research Coordinator in August 2024 and helps manage the various clinical trials run by the unit. In his free time, Anthony enjoys riding his bike, curating Spotify playlists, and aiming for new personal bests on the NYT Mini Crossword.
Amanda Michael
Amanda is a Clinical Research Coordinator in the Barouch Lab and Master of Science in Bioethics (MBE) Candidate at Harvard Medical School. She graduated from Emory University in 2024 with a major in Human Health and a minor in Global Health, Culture, and Society.
Thi Nguyen
University of Connecticut, BS in Biology with minors in Psychology and Molecular and Cell BiologyHometown: Sharon, MA
Thi graduated magna cum laude from the University of Connecticut with a major in Biology and minors in Psychology and Molecular and Cell Biology. After graduating, she worked as a medical assistant at a private cardiology office and a multi-specialty clinic at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, specifically in specialties like otolaryngology, cardiology, general surgery, and weight management. After accumulating almost three years of clinical experience and working with over 30 different providers, she joined Dr. Stephenson’s team here at the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research to understand the importance of research on clinical practice. She also volunteers at the Attleboro Area Interfaith Collaborative food kitchen and as a medical advocate for the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. Thi hopes to pursue a career as a physician to provide compassionate, individualized care for all individuals using advanced technology. During her free time, you can find Thi weightlifting, crocheting, or sleeping.
Eleanor Nicholson
Pomona College, BA in Molecular BiologyHometown: Portland, OR | Pronouns: She/her/hers
Eleanor graduated from Pomona College in 2024 where she captained the Varsity volleyball team and majored in Molecular Biology. As an undergraduate, Eleanor was fascinated with exploring infection diseases. She researched the positive effects that CBD has on protecting hosts from Salmonella enterica, among other enteric pathogens. Later, she worked in a malaria lab in Melbourne, Australia during her semester abroad where her project focused on localizing and characterizing a novel protein, SWEET, a bidirectional glucose transporter in Plasmodium Bergheim thought to the mechanism by which parasitism evolved Finally, for her year-long experimental thesis, she developed a high-throughput selective killing bacterial assay that tests the selectivity of new, narrow-spectrum antibiotics, including small, cyclic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Eleanor enjoys watching movies, and playing pickleball and beach volleyball in her free time.
Victoria Su
Northeastern University, BS in Psychology with a minor in BiologyHometown: Queens, New York City
Victoria graduated from Northeastern University’s College of Science with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 2024. During her undergraduate career, she worked as a Patient Care Associate in the Cardiovascular Diagnostic Interventional Center (comprised of the Echocardiography Lab, the Electrophysiology Lab, and the Cardiac Catheterization Lab) and Practice Assistant in the Day Surgery/Pre-op/PACU units of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She spent time as Research Assistant in the PAAWS (Physical Activity Assessment Using Wearable Sensors) Study at NEU, which worked towards the development of health-monitoring devices akin to Apple Watches and Fitbits, and regularly volunteers as a Crisis Counselor at the Crisis Text Line. Victoria hopes to pursue a career in medicine to provide culturally-informed and competent care to underrepresented populations. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends, going on walks, and learning new languages.
