Keynote Speaker Information
Saturday Keynote
1:00-1:50PM
Robin G. Lorenz, M.D., Ph.D.
Executive Director, Research Pathology, Genentech
Main conference room 102
Robin Lorenz, M.D., Ph.D., serves as the Executive Director of Research Pathology at Genentech in South San Francisco, California. For more than 20 years, her laboratory has studied the gastrointestinal immune responses to both pathogenic and commensal microbiota and the impact of these responses on systemic autoimmune diseases. Prior to her arrival at Genentech, Dr. Lorenz was continuously involved in the Clinical Immunology Diagnostic Laboratories at both Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She is a board-certified Clinical Pathologist and has a longstanding involvement in the Academy of Clinical and Laboratory Physicians and Scientists (ACLPS), where she helped to formulate their national curriculum for the teaching of clinical immunology. More recently, Dr. Lorenz has been an integral voice within the national dialogue on whether Pathology residency programs should offer research tracks. Notably, these discussions led to the American Board of Pathology’s endorsement of research track positions for pathology residents who are training to become physician-scientists. Dr. Lorenz is the recipient of numerous awards including the Gerald T. Evans Award for Outstanding Leadership and Service from the ACLPS; the Bert Shapiro Award for Outstanding Contributions to Physician-Scientist Training by the National Association of M.D.-Ph.D. Programs, and the American Society for Investigative Pathology Robbins Distinguished Educator Award, among others.
Dr. Lorenz received her B.S. in biology from Stanford University and her M.D. and Ph.D. in immunology from Washington University in St. Louis. She completed residency in Clinical Pathology at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, while completing postdoctoral research in Gastrointestinal Biology at Washington University in St. Louis. She then joined the Washington University faculty as an Assistant Professor of Pathology and Medicine, where she also served as Medical Director of the Joint Clinical Immunology Laboratory for Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s Hospitals and Associate Director of the Laboratory Medicine Residency Training Program. In 2002, Dr. Lorenz joined UAB as an Associate Professor of Pathology where she was promptly selected as the Director of the UAB MSTP. Passionate about developing physician-scientist leaders, Dr. Lorenz then established the UAB Physician Scientist Development Office in 2015, for which she served as Associate Dean. She held additional faculty appointments within the UAB Departments of Medical Education and Microbiology, and was a member of the Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Dr. Lorenz holds a special place within the UAB MSTP, and we are honored to welcome her as the Keynote Speaker for the 15th Annual Southeastern Medical Scientist Symposium, a meeting of current and aspiring physician-scientists that she pioneered during her tenure at UAB.
Sunday Keynote
11:30am-12:30pm
James M. Markert, M.D., M.P.H.
James Garber Galbraith Endowed Chair of Neurosurgery
Professor and Chair, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Main conference room 102
James M. Markert, M.D., M.P.H., is Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where he has led the department since it gained full status in 2013. He is a board-certified neurosurgeon and internationally recognized physician-scientist, known for his pioneering work in oncolytic virotherapy. His research focuses on the use of genetically engineered herpes simplex viruses to treat malignant brain tumors, particularly glioblastoma multiforme. His translational work has helped propel several oncolytic viral candidates, including those for pediatric patients, into clinical trials.
Dr. Markert earned his A.B. in Biochemical Sciences from Harvard University and completed graduate studies in Applied Mathematics. He obtained his M.D. and M.P.H. at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1988. He completed his General Surgery internship and Neurosurgery residency at the University of Michigan Medical School, where he also served as Chief Resident. During his residency, he spent 18 months in the laboratory of Dr. Robert Martuza at Massachusetts General Hospital, initiating his long-standing interest in virotherapy. He later completed a research fellowship in molecular virology under Dr. Bernard Roizman at the University of Chicago before joining the faculty at UAB in 1996 as an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery.
Now as a professor and a leader in academic neurosurgery, Dr. Markert has expanded UAB Neurosurgery’s research footprint, cultivated multidisciplinary collaborations, and mentored countless medical students, residents, and M.D.-Ph.D. trainees. His work has been published in leading scientific journals and recognized nationally for its innovation and impact. Dr. Markert was named the inaugural chair for the Department of Neurosurgery in 2013. He has served as President of both the Southern Neurosurgical Society and the American Academy of Neurological Surgery and was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2022. Most recently, he was appointed to the Board of Directors of the American Board of Neurological Surgery.
Dr. Markert’s career exemplifies the integration of clinical excellence, scientific discovery, and mentorship. We are honored to welcome him as a Keynote Speaker for our 15th Annual Southeastern Medical Scientist Symposium, where he will share insights from a career spent advancing the frontiers of neurosurgical science and training the next generation of physician-scientist leaders.