Ona Bloom is postdoctoral fellow at the Yale University School of Medicine. She has been interested at the interface between the nervous and immune systems since her senior year at Barnard College. She graduated with a BA in history from Barnard College in 1992 and began working as a research assistant under the supervision of Dr. Kevin J. Tracey, where she participated in his studies on the interactions between the immune and nervous systems. In 2001, Dr. Bloom earned her PhD from The Rockefeller University in New York City, under the supervision of Nobel Laureate Paul Greengard. Her doctoral work concentrated on the molecular anatomy of neuronal synapses. Dr. Bloom is currently continuing her training at the Yale University School of Medicine under the supervision of Professor Ira Mellman in the departments of Cell Biology and Immunology. Dr. Bloom’s fellowship has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and by the Cancer Research Institute. Currently, her scientific work focuses on the role of neuronal proteins at the immunological synapse, which is the place where antigen presenting cells communicate with lymphocytes. In the future, Dr. Bloom plans to continue working at the interface of the nervous and immune systems. When not at work, Dr. Bloom enjoys cooking, theater, music, and travel.
Jennifer Morgan is originally from Rutherfordton, North Carolina. She graduated in 1991 with highest honors from RS Central High School. From there, Jennifer went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She began studying neurobiology during her sophomore year under the guidance of Dr. Ann Stuart. In 1995, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree with Honors in Biology. After taking a year off to continue her research, Jennifer began her graduate training at Duke University under the guidance of Dr. George Augustine. She earned a PhD in Neurobiology in 2001. Dr. Morgan continues her training as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Pietro De Camilli at Yale University where she currently studies synaptic vesicle recycling. Her research has been supported by a Brown-Coxe Postdoctoral Fellowship (Yale), a Grass Fellowship in Neurosciences (Grass Foundation/MBL), and an individual postdoctoral National Research Service Award (NIH/NIMH). Throughout her career as a scientist, Jennifer has spent many summers doing research and teaching at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA. Last year, she was elected a member of the MBL Corporation. When she is not working, Jennifer enjoys singing and playing bass guitar in her band called ‘The Secret Ink’, traveling, and teaching her two cats to do tricks.
Alan I. Hecht, D.C., is a practicing chiropractor in New York. He is also an adjunct professor at Farmingdale State College, the C.W. Post campus of Long Island University, and Nassau Community College. He teaches courses in medical microbiology, anatomy and physiology, comparative anatomy, human physiology, human nutrition, and embryology. In addition, he is the course coordinator for Human Biology at Hofstra University, where he is an adjunct associate professor. He is also course coordinator for Graduate Anatomy and Physiology for Medical Physics at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.
Dr. Hecht received his B.S. in Biology–Pre-Medical Studies from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, New Jersey. He received his M.S. in Basic Medical Sciences from New York University School of Medicine. He also received his Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) degree from New York Chiropractic College in Brookville, New York.
Dr. Hecht was the recipient of the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching from the State University of New York.
Foreword by David Heymann, World Health Organization