FORT LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla.- Nova Southeastern University (NSU) College of Osteopathic Medicine Dean Anthony J. Silvagni, D.O., Pharm.D., M.Sc., recently announced the appointment of Mary Ann Fletcher, Ph.D., as the first Schemel Professor for Neuro Immune Medicine. The Schemel Professorship was established in 2013 through a $2 million endowment from the Schemel Family Foundation.
“Dr. Fletcher is recognized throughout the medical research community as a leader in the study of the immunology of infectious diseases,” said Silvagni. “We are proud to welcome her to our world-leading Institute for Neuro Immune Medicine and we are incredibly grateful to the Schemel family for their commitment to the advancement of science and medicine.”
In her new role, Fletcher will oversee the research lab and conduct proteomic and genomic research at the NSU College of Medicine’s Institute for Neuro Immune Medicine. Located at NSU’s main campus in Davie and led by Nancy Klimas, M.D., the Institute is the first in the nation to study neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative disorders such as chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis, Gulf War Illness, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis using the newest proteomic, genomic and computational techniques. The program recently received a $4.1 million grant from the Department of Defense to study Gulf War Illness.
“I am honored and grateful to the Schemel family and NSU for believing in me and allowing me to devote my efforts to helping find better treatments for these diseases which impact so many people and deserve our attention and resources,” said Fletcher.
Fletcher joins NSU from the University of Miami, where she spent the previous 40 years, most recently as a tenured professor and director of the E.M. Popper Laboratory of Clinical Immunology, which is being relocated to NSU.
Fletcher earned her Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, her Master of Science in Immunology and Virology from University of Texas Medical School in Dallas, and her Doctor of Philosophy in Immunochemistry from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. She completed her postdoctoral research at Northwestern University in Chicago.
Fletcher’s research has been published more than 260 peer reviewed articles in scientific journals and she has presented her work at many national and international scientific conferences. She holds two U.S. Patents for developing tests to determine if a person has mononucleosis.
Fletcher is a licensed Clinical Laboratory Director in Florida and New York and is certified as a High Complexity Laboratory Director by the American Board of Bio-analysis. She is a frequent reviewer of manuscripts for scientific journals and of grants submitted to the National Institutes of Health. She is a member of the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Advisory Committee that advises the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.