Leadership

Craig E. Rubens, MD, PhD
Executive Director, GAPPS
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Craig Rubens is co-founder and executive director of the Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth (GAPPS), an initiative of Seattle Children’s. GAPPS was established in 2007 to increase awareness and accelerate innovative research and interventions that will improve maternal, newborn and child health outcomes. Dr. Rubens, an internationally recognized infectious disease expert leads GAPPS work in program development and strategic partnerships that leverage cross-disciplinary science to accelerate a discovery-to-delivery pipeline for preventing prematurity and stillbirth. Dr. Rubens is a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington, School of Medicine; and the endowed chair of Pediatric Infectious Diseases sponsored by Seattle Children’s Hospital. He is a member of the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and has been a consultant and reviewer for the FDA, CDC and NIH. His long-term research interests include diseases afflicting low-, middle- and high-income countries and he serves on the Executive Committee of the Washington Alliance for Global Health. His specific area of expertise is in exploring the mechanisms of infection during pregnancy and in the early newborn period that lead to poor pregnancy and newborn health outcomes. Insights from his work have begun to identify new opportunities for vaccine development. Dr Rubens is a graduate of the University of Washington, School of Medicine and received a PhD from the Department of Basic and Clinical Immunology and Microbiology, Medical University of South Carolina.

Donna Russell, MHA
Program Director
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Donna Russell co-founded GAPPS in 2007, helping to launch the new interdisciplinary initiative of Seattle Children’s focused on reducing preterm birth and stillbirth. As Program Director, Donna Russell develops Alliance partnerships and oversees key initiatives. She is also responsible for the oversight and development of the GAPPS Repository, established for the prospective collection, processing and storage of high quality prenatal specimens, which will create the infrastructure for investigating the longitudinal biology and epidemiology of pregnancy. Before joining GAPPS in 2007, she served as a senior policy analyst and consultant for the Washington State Department of Health, and the State Board of Health. She has also served as a consultant to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and Seattle hospitals, in health advocacy, policy development and analysis on a broad range of issues -- including public health financing, health workforce shortages, tribal health, and health disparities. She has a strong background and special interest in neonatal Group B Streptococcus disease prevention and her collaborative efforts with the CDC have contributed to adoption of universal prenatal screening for Group B Strep. Ms. Russell serves on the Board of Directors of Group B Strep International.

Michael G. Gravett, MD
Scientific Director
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Dr. Gravett is professor and vice-chairman, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, at the University of Washington and a core investigator of GAPPS. Dr. Gravett completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology and fellowships in maternal-fetal medicine and in infectious diseases/immunology at the University of Washington. His research interests center on infectious and inflammatory causes and consequences of preterm birth, and he developed the first experimental non-human primate model for infection-induced preterm birth. He has won numerous awards for his research and currently serves as president of the Infectious Diseases Society for Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Toni Martinez Nunes, MA, MPH
Director of Creative Projects
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Christy Van Pelt
Business Manager
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