Dr. Michelle Crank, a board certified allergist, immunologist and internist, is an expert in human immunology and vaccinology. Dr. Crank graduated with a bachelor of arts in chemistry from Princeton University (cum laude), then returned to her native Texas for medical school at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where she graduated with her MD with distinction in research. She completed her residency in internal medicine there with a focus on immunology research.
Dr. Crank completed her clinical fellowship in allergy and immunology at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID). During her fellowship, she rotated at the Institute for Asthma and Allergy for her continuity clinic. During that time, she also studied the role of cytokines in immunity and vaccine responses before moving to the NIAID Vaccine Research Center (VRC) as a translational immunologist. There, she was the head of the translational sciences core.
At the VRC, Dr. Crank focused on moving new vaccine candidates into clinical trials, working specifically on trials for universal influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines. She co-authored the interim analysis, recently published in Science, of her first-in-human trial of a new RSV vaccine. The vaccine is already being developed by multiple pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Crank served as an attending physician on the Allergy and Immunology Consultation Service at the NIH Clinical Center, where she mentored Allergy and Immunology fellows and cared for patients with complex medical problems, including immune deficiencies and multiple medication allergies.
Dr. Crank is a member of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology(AAAAI), and she continues to participate in education of trainees at the NIH as a special volunteer.