ICHS Announcement 

Thank you to the Finberg family for their dedication to this scholarship in his honor!

Dr. Finberg was an integral part of the ICHS and being part of its council, with exceptional contributions to our society over the years. His dedication was vital in our mission to provide education and better patient outcomes through a global multidisciplinary forum to improve understanding and management of the immunocompromised host. 

As an advocate for mentorship, and in his honor, the Finberg family along with ICHS is proposing an initiative to early-career physicians access to critical educational opportunities that strengthen their clinical and research skills, professional development, and leadership in Immunology and Infectious Diseases in the Immunocompromised Host by donating a biennial scholarship named after the late Dr. Robert Finberg: “Dr. Robert Finberg Memorial Scholarship Award.”

Dr. Finberg was an accomplished and an internationally renowned physician-scientist, infectious disease researcher, and a teacher. He was the Department chair of the UMass Chan Medical School for 21 years. With more than 300 publications and 40 years of continuous funding, Dr. Finberg's research contributed enormously to our understanding of viral receptors and entry, to host responses, and he was widely recognized as an expert on influenza and SARS-CoV2. Dr. Finberg was pivotal in developing, testing, and implementing novel therapies for patients with influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infection. He led many clinical trials for SARS-CoV-2 therapeutics and vaccines and was an ardent public health advocate serving on multiple states and federal committees. He also directed the educational, clinical, and research activities in the largest academic department at the UMass Chan Medical School, all while continuing to care compassionately for hospitalized patients for more than two decades. He served as a member of the Board of Trustees for UMass Memorial Health and was a strong advocate for faculty and staff development and a dedicated ICHS member.

Each year, many promising physicians in the early stages of their careers are eager to attend premier medical education conferences where they can learn the latest evidence-based practices, connect with mentors, network, and collaborate with colleagues from across the field. To provide fair and equal opportunities, an award has been established to support early-career physicians, from low- and middle-income countries in particular, to attend the upcoming ICHS Biennial Symposium in Houston, Texas, and other future ICHS educational events. The main objectives are to provide financial assistance that will allow these physicians to fully participate in the conference’s educational programming, networking opportunities, and skill-building workshops.

Thank you to the Finberg family for their dedication to this scholarship in his honor.