On Nov. 8, Marco Salemi, Ph.D., will leave his role as associate director of research initiatives to serve as interim director of the University of Florida Emerging Pathogens Institute. In his new position, Salemi will steer the institute’s mission of groundbreaking innovation with the same passion and dedication that has ignited in him since he became a member in 2008. His journey from researcher to leader is a testament to the place that shaped his career, and his vision for the future of infectious disease research speaks for itself.
What follows is edited for length and clarity.
Q. What originally attracted you to the EPI?
A. When they started building the Emerging Pathogens Institute in 2007, I was a young assistant professor at the University of Florida. I saw the building going up, and as soon as Dr. Morris was here, we had several meetings. He started telling me about his vision for the institute, and the idea was to build this large interdisciplinary network of scientists that could work on plant, human and animal emerging pathogens. In my mind, back then, the EPI would become an incredible hub for talented scientists from different fields who can cross-fertilize – and it became just that. I’ve been here ever since as one of the very first people who moved into the building, and a significant part of my career has developed through these walls. Besides being honored that I now have this position, in a way, this is a very nice achievement in what has been my career path for the past 17 years.
How has your former role as associate director prepared you for this new leadership role?
My former role has been fundamental in preparing me for this leadership position. I’ve had a scientific career that allowed me to explore many different fields of research, so I was already naturally exposed to this idea of cross-discipline team building. I’ve learned that there’s a particular effort that must be put into building a network of scientists from different fields who don’t speak the same language. We apply for different program projects, where each project is usually run by a scientist or a group of scientists with slightly different knowledge and backgrounds. It also helps that I’ve been here for quite a long time and have built a lot of good relationships. In science, like in any other human endeavor, competency is important, but there is also a human dimension. People have different ways of looking at and approaching problems, but work must be done in a way that respects others and their perspectives, which increases the synergy between them.
What role can the EPI play for Florida and beyond?
I see my role as someone who must navigate our tradition of excellence to start building even better capabilities for the future. In the U.S., there are only four institutes comparable to ours, and we are the only one I am aware of that has researchers spanning a wide range of disciplines, so there is a diversity of research that is extremely rich. One of my major missions would be to make the EPI relevant not just from the scientific point of view but also from the standpoint of society at large. The EPI has a lot to offer and has already offered quite a lot to Florida. For example, we are on the front line of research for human and animal diseases. We also live in a world where emerging pathogens pose an even greater threat to society. Take, for instance, the influx of tourism in Florida. Human mobility has many benefits, but at the same time, as more people move around the world, so do viruses and bacteria. In my view, the EPI can be an ideal place for this kind of interdisciplinary research and open dialogue takes place. Working together in an environment where every point of view matters creates the science and the society of the future.
What do you think is the biggest challenges facing infectious disease research today, and how will the EPI work to address them?
Right now, we live in a very interesting time from a scientific point-of-view. There are two kinds of diverging paths that research is following. On one side, our techniques and technology are becoming more and more accurate. At the same time, scientists in the 20th and 21st centuries have recognized that understanding something as complex as how a pathogen causes a disease requires a little bit more than a hyper-specialized look. What truly causes a pathogen to become highly pathogenic is a holistic problem that requires analysis of the interaction between the host, the pathogen and the environment at large. The critical value lies in bridging the gap between knowledge and language. The way I see it, the EPI can continue being a place where these bridges can be built.
What makes the EPI stand out?
We are pretty much the only institute that has such a wide range of different faculty from different colleges and specialties working together in the same environment. We have research that spans from plant pathogens to human pathogens, and we live in a state with a large immigration influx. We are also in an agricultural state, so plant pathogens can be devastating for our economy. Having an institute that can build on so much expertise working toward a common goal is fairly unique, both in its interdisciplinarity and position. During my tenure as associate director, we have been attracting more and more people who work in artificial intelligence. UF is well-known for its AI capabilities, and we are one of the only campuses with the greatest expertise in this field. The EPI has been doing a really great job convincing scientists in the AI world that infectious disease is important, which means building on research capabilities for the next century.
What does integrating emerging technologies like AI into infectious disease research look like?
With the quantity of data we’re dealing with today, there is an enormous need to improve the quality of the technology with which we analyze it. The implementation of AI in the study of infectious diseases – from the study of the genome of a bacterial strain to understanding how a pathogenic mechanism works – has proven to be extremely effective in helping propel scientific discoveries. During my tenure, I consider this to be one of my missions: to implement and improve our AI capabilities further. We had scientists who just recently published an algorithm capable of predicting which of the COVID variants circulating today is most likely to become the dominant one three months from now. An institute like the EPI can become a model for how we will develop science in the 21st century and beyond.
What legacy do you hope to leave as interim director of the EPI?
I would like to create an environment where we can foster young talent and, at the same time, give the established investigator what they need to make their research more successful. I would like to create interdisciplinary teams that work together and that can readily be activated when new emergencies arise. By working together toward a common goal of monitoring infectious diseases, I think we will reduce the likelihood that devastating pandemics might happen again. The key is to coordinate, on a global scale, as much expertise as possible to act in concert when a new epidemic threat has developed. If we can do this, then we will create a sort of shield around our planet to protect us against epidemics. This starts here.
Written by: Lauren Williams