Dr. Stephenson is a physician-scientist in the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research (CVVR) and the Division of Infectious Diseases at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, Massachusetts. She is also an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She has expertise in conducting clinical trials testing novel immunologic interventions for HIV and emerging infectious diseases like SARS-CoV-2 and Zika virus. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she was the site Principal Investigator (PI) for the first-in-human trial of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen Ad26.COV2.S COVID-19 vaccine, as well as for the Phase 3 efficacy trials of remdesivir, Novavax vaccine, and casirivimab and imdevimab monoclonal antibodies. She is currently the site PI and protocol chair for several first-in-human studies of candidate HIV vaccines, which complements her previous contributions in testing a mosaic Ad26-based HIV vaccine and broadly neutralizing antibodies for HIV prevention, treatment and remission. In addition, Dr. Stephenson is an outspoken advocate for increasing research equity for Black and Latinx populations in clinical trials, and is committed to ensuring access to promising medicines and vaccines for our most vulnerable communities.

Dr. Stephenson received her medical degree from New York University, and completed her internal medicine training at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, followed by infectious diseases training at Massachusetts General Hospital / Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She also obtained a Master’s in Public Health from Columbia University where she focused on the ethics of clinical trials, isolation and quarantine.