The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) is pleased to announce the 2018-2019 NFID Board of Directors and updated slate of officers, including NFID President Joseph A. Bocchini, Jr., MD, of Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC) and President-Elect Patricia N. Whitley-Williams, MD, of the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, NJ. Walter A. Orenstein, MD, Associate Director of the Emory Vaccine Center at Emory University in Atlanta, GA is Immediate Past-President.

Dr. Bocchini is Professor and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at LSUHSC in Shreveport, LA, where he also serves as Medical Director of the Children’s Hospital and as a member of the Section of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. Dr. Bocchini has been a practicing physician for more than 45 years.

“It is an honor for me to assume the position of President of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases,” said Dr. Bocchini. “As a practicing pediatrician and father of four daughters, the NFID mission of providing education to both healthcare professionals and the public on the causes, prevention, and treatment of infectious diseases is very important to me and I welcome the opportunity to guide the organization in the continued pursuit of its mission.”

Dr. Bocchini is a past chair of the Committee on Infectious Diseases of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a past member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. He is a member of the American Society of Microbiology, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, American Pediatric Society, and the Academic Pediatric Association. He is a member of the Editorial Board of Infectious Diseases in Children. Dr. Bocchini received his MD from St. Louis University School of Medicine. He completed a residency in Pediatrics at the University of Connecticut and a fellowship in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at The Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Whitley-Williams is Professor of Pediatrics and Chief of the Division of Pediatric Allergy, Immunology and Infectious Diseases at Rutgers. She is a liaison member of the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and has served as a member of the Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Tuberculosis at CDC and the National Vaccine Advisory Committee of the Department of Health and Senior Services as well as the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Pediatric AIDS. Dr. Whitley-Williams has participated in the development of the national guidelines for the reduction of perinatal HIV transmission as a member of the Department of Health and Senior Services/Public Health Service Perinatal HIV Guidelines Working Group. Her interests include pediatric HIV infection/AIDS, tuberculosis in children and childhood immunization.

Other new Board members are Sara E. Cosgrove, MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Ruth Lynfield, MD, Minnesota Department of Health; and Cynthia Pellegrini, March of Dimes. The complete list of 2018-2019 NFID Board of Directors is below. This esteemed group of public health leaders officially began responsibilities on July 1, 2018.