William J. ”Cris” Crisler, PhD
Instructor, Harvard Medical School
Investigator, Department of Dermatology, Brigham & Women’s Hospital
Dr. Crisler is a translational cutaneous immunologist who is passionate about using cutting-edge research to improve human health. Dr. Crisler earned a PhD in immunology at the University of Colorado Anschutz where he studied transcriptional and epigenetic regulation of myeloid cell interferon responses. As a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School in the lab of Dr. Rachael A. Clark, Dr. Crisler studied T cell inflammatory and immunoregulatory networks in human skin diseases.
Dr. Crisler has received numerous awards for his research and leadership, including the Dermatology Foundation Career Development Award, the BWH Pillars Award for Research Leadership, and the Harvard Medical School Award for Excellence in Mentoring. Dr. Crisler serves as the immunology content lead for the Harvard Medical School Immunity in Defense & Disease Course. He is also co-director of the Harvard Skin Inflammation in Human Health & Disease Conference.
Samuel J. Steuart
Harvard Medical Student
Sam is an MD student at Harvard Medical School. Sam earned an MSc in Integrated Immunology at the University of Oxford as a Marshall Scholar. He also earned an MPH from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Sam earned a BA in American Studies and Biochemistry with a minor in Spanish at the University of Kansas. In the Crisler Lab, Sam is interested in the differential mechanisms of immune rejection of vascular composite allografts (VCA) at skin and mucosal sites. Sam is also investigating superficial keratinocyte biomarkers that could improve VCA rejection monitoring.
Hometown: Topeka, KS
Fun Fact: Sam has two different colored eyes, and in his free time he enjoys streaming the AOTY Cowboy Carter.
Michael J. Martinez, MD
Resident, Harvard Combined Internal Medicine & Dermatology Program
Michael is a resident in the Combined Internal Medicine and Dermatology Program at Harvard Medical School. He earned his MD at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, where he was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honorary Society and awarded the Leonard J. Tow Humanism in Medicine Award. Prior to NYU, Michael earned dual degrees in Finance and Biology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In the Crisler Lab, Michael studies the immune mechanisms driving connective tissue diseases such as systemic sclerosis, morphea, and dermatomyositis. He aims to identify novel therapeutic targets by defining the immune pathways and cellular interactions that maintain tissue injury.
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Fun Fact: Michael was the founder of the Speech and Debate Team at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
