Dr. Rafi Ahmed is Director of the Emory Vaccine Center at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, GA and a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar. His research efforts are directed towards: 1. Understanding the mechanisms of immunological memory and using this knowledge to develop new and more effective vaccines. 2. Defining the mechanisms of T cell exhaustion and developing effective immunotherapy for treatment of cancer and chronic viral infections. Dr. Ahmed is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Inventors, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.