Dr Michael Cappello a professor of pediatrics at the Yale School of Medicine, a board-certified infectious diseases clinician and consultant at HopeXchange has been appointed chair of the Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases (EMD) Department at Yale University, USA. In addition to his position as a professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Cappello holds a secondary appointment in EMD and serves as an associate director of the Yale MD-PhD Program. He also serves as attending physician in the Pediatric Infectious Diseases section at the Yale-New Haven network of affiliated hospitals in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Dr. Cappello, charged with refining and advancing the mission of EMD, will carry on a legacy of world-renowned research, academic innovations and advancing health for all as a reality. Profs. Cappello’s research combines the techniques of molecular biology, in vivo pathogenesis models, and field-based epidemiology to develop drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics for parasitic diseases (i.e., hookworm, schistosomiasis, and malaria) that afflict people living in low-resource countries. The quality of his scientific contributions is evidenced by the high-impact publications he has authored, the grants he has secured from multiple funding bodies, the leadership roles he has played within international collaborations, and the awards he has received for his scientific work, Pettigrew said.