Menu
Dr. Kent Kester is currently Vice President and Head, Translational Science and Biomarkers at Sanofi Pasteur. In this capacity, he leads a team of over 200 research and clinical professionals in the US and France focused on translational development of new vaccines.
During a 24-year career in the US Army, he worked extensively in clinical vaccine development and led multiple research platforms at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), the U.S. Department of Defense’s largest and most diverse biomedical research laboratory (~3,000 worldwide staff; research budget >$350 million), an institution he later led and reorganized as its Commander/Director. His final military assignment was as the Associate Dean for Clinical Research in the School of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS). During his military service, Dr. Kester was appointed as the consultant (policy advisor) to the US Army Surgeon General in both Infectious Diseases and in Medical Research & Development. In these capacities, he worked extensively in the interagency environment and developed a variety of Army medical policies related to infectious diseases, both clinical and research aspects.
Dr. Kester holds an undergraduate degree from Bucknell University and an M.D. from Jefferson Medical College, completing his internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of Maryland and a fellowship in infectious diseases at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. A malaria vaccine researcher with over 70 scientific manuscripts and book chapters, Dr. Kester has played a major role in the development of the malaria vaccine candidate known as RTS,S.
Currently a member of the US Government Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, he previously chaired the Steering Committee of the NIAID/USUHS Infectious Disease Clinical Research Program, and has served as a member of the FDA Vaccines & Related Biologics Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC), the NIAID Advisory Council, and the CDC Office of Infectious Diseases Board of Scientific Counselors.
Board-certified in both internal medicine and infectious diseases, Dr. Kester holds active faculty appointments at USUHS and the University of Maryland; and is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, the Infectious Disease Society of America, and the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. He is a member of the clinical faculty at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore where he regularly provides care as an infectious disease subspecialist.
Post-Graduate Education and Training
1986-1987 — Internship, Medicine, University of Maryland Medical System
1987-1989 — Residency, Medicine, University of Maryland Medical System
1992-1995 — Fellowship, Infectious Diseases, Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Certifications
1987 — National Board of Medical Examiners
1989 — Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine
1996 — Infectious Diseases, American Board of Internal Medicine (recertified 2006 and 2016)
Employment History
1989-1992 — Staff Internist, Department of Medicine, Brooke Army Medical Center, Ft. Sam Houston, TX
1995-1999 — Chief, Serology Section, Department of Immunology, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, DC
1999-2001 — Chief, Clinical Vaccine Development Program, Department of Immunology, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD
2001-2004 — Chief, Department of Clinical Trials, Walter Reed Army Institute Research, Silver Spring, MD
2004-2006 — Director, Division of Regulated Activities, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD
2006-2008 — Deputy Commander/COO, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD
2008-2011 — Commander/CEO, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD
2011-2014 — Associate Dean for Clinical Research, School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD
2013 — Acting Dean, School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD
2014-2015 — Associate Vice President and Head, Clinical and Translational Sciences, Sanofi Pasteur, Swiftwater, PA
2015-2021 — Vice President and Head, Translational Sciences and Biomarkers, Sanofi Pasteur, Swiftwater, PA
2021-present — Vice President, Translational Medicine, IAVI, New York, NY
Military Service
Commissioned 1982, U.S. Army
Active Duty: 1989-2014
Final Rank: Colonel (retired)
Professional Society Memberships and Recognitions
1995 — Fellow, American College of Physicians
2001 — Fellow, Infectious Disease Society of America
2012 — Fellow, American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (Counselor 2014-2015; Secretary-Treasurer 2021-present)
2018 — Fellow, Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
1992-Present — Member, American Society for Microbiology
Web Design and Development by Saltech Systems