Dr. Gerald Pier is a Professor of Medicine (Microbiology and Immunobiology) at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital where he has been conducting independent research since 1978. He received his Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of California at Berkeley. A National Research Council post-doctoral fellowship at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research with Dr. Jerald Sadoff followed where he began studies of virulence and immunity to Pseudomonas aeruginosa and other pathogens. The major research focus has been the role of bacterial capsules in pathogenesis and as antigenic targets for vaccines. Dr. Pier has published over 260 peer reviewed papers, edited an immunology textbook for ASM Press and contributed chapters to the major textbooks of medicine and infectious diseases. He is an elected member of the American Academy of Microbiology, an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a member of numerous other professional organizations.