We are thrilled to welcome Samar Khan as Project Manager for Strategic Initiatives at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine. Reporting to Kendra Kirk, Chief of Staff and Associate Vice Dean for Strategic Initiatives, Samar will play a crucial role in advancing the goals of our Inspiring Excellence 2024–2029 five-year plan.
Already a member of the Temple family, Samar brings over seven years of experience to the role, most recently serving as Associate Director in the Department of Finance at the Fox School of Business. Her extensive project management experience includes facilitating cross-departmental collaboration, processes and procedures to support institutional recruitment, programming and events. Samar also brings a background in data analysis and business communications to the role. She holds an MBA from Thomas Jefferson University, is pursuing a Post Master’s Certificate from Temple in Clinical Trials Management and is a Temple PhD candidate in Health Policy and Human Services.
In this position, Samar will collaborate with the Dean, senior leadership, Inspiring Excellence working groups and various departments to oversee the execution of our strategic plan, ensuring consistency, adaptability and continued alignment with the school’s long-term goals. Samar’s leadership will be key to the successful launch and management of projects that support Katz’s mission to advance our excellence in education, research, and clinical care.
Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,
It is with profound sadness that I share the loss of Geohaira Sosa, MD, who passed away in a tragic accident after recently starting her residency in psychiatry at UC Davis. Geo, as she was fondly known, was a beloved member of the Class of 2024.
A leader in her class, Dr. Sosa served as the Mentorship Chair of the Latino Medical Student Association and as the Class of 2024’s Block Representative. She made connecting to the North Philadelphia community through service a priority throughout medical school, participating in community vaccination efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic and volunteering with a number of programs in the Center for Urban Bioethics.
Dr. Sosa left a lasting impression on all who knew her, and her loss is deeply felt by everyone who had the privilege of being part of her journey. Her co-interns at UC Davis have expressed how quickly she became a cherished friend and colleague. A fund has been established by the UC Davis Department of Psychiatry to support her family during this incredibly difficult time. To offer your condolences to Geo’s family, please use this link to share any photos, videos or memories, or express your sympathy. The memorial service for Dr. Sosa will be held on September 13, at 10 a.m. at Palms West Funeral Home in Royal Palm Beach, FL.
We mourn the loss of a promising physician and an extraordinary person who had so much more to give. As we come to terms with this heartbreaking news, we extend our deepest condolences to Dr. Sosa’s family, friends and all who loved her.
In moments like this, it is important to come together as a community to support one another. Let us honor Dr. Sosa’s memory by carrying forward the spirit of compassion, kindness and joy that she embodied in everything she did.
We encourage students to seek available support services through the university’s Wellness Resource Center and Katz Counseling Services at 215-707-4088, through the Tuttleman Counseling Center, or visit the Tuttleman Counseling Services website.
For faculty and staff members, our employee assistance program offers support and resources 24/7 online or call 1-888-267-8126. Employees and students can also contact Temple’s Psychological Services Center at psc@temple.edu, or 215-204-7100. More information can also be found on the portal at https://tuportal6.temple.edu/group/wellbeing. Dually employed TFP faculty can also access services through the Carebridge Employee Assistance Program (800-437-0911) or www.myliferesource.com, access code RBMNE.
With deepest sympathy,
Amy J. Goldberg, MD, FACS
The Marjorie Joy Katz Dean
Lewis Katz School of Medicine
Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,
I am pleased to announce that Beata Kosmider, PhD, has been appointed as the new Director of the Center for Inflammation and Lung Research (CILR), effective August 1.
Dr. Kosmider earned her PhD at the University of Lodz in Poland, studying platinum-based chemotherapies in lung cancer, and subsequently investigated genetic instability. Dr. Kosmider began her independent career as an Assistant Professor at National Jewish Health in Denver. 
She joined Katz as an Associate Professor in CILR in 2015, gained tenure in 2021, and was promoted to Full Professor in 2022.
Dr. Kosmider’s research is focused on critical topics in lung health and disease; particularly, on emphysema pathophysiology. Her work includes studying alveolar epithelial cell injury induced by various factors and concentrates on the mechanisms that drive lung repair to identify novel regenerative strategies for pulmonary diseases. Dr. Kosmider has obtained awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Defense (DoD) as a Principal Investigator and has a clinical trial funded by a pharmaceutical company. Beyond her research work in CILR, she teaches students in several departments across Katz.
As CILR’s Director, she will focus on bolstering the center’s academic excellence through fostering interdisciplinary research collaborations within Katz and across the health system, supporting faculty development and ongoing recruitment of top-tier investigators and overseeing teaching programs for students and postdoctoral fellows.
Dr. Kosmider will succeed Dr. Thomas J. Rogers, CILR’s inaugural Director, who has led research at the center for over a decade. Dr. Rogers is a leading expert in the field of inflammation, whose work has made important contributions to the understanding of how chemokine, opioid, and formyl peptide receptors contribute to the regulation of inflammatory responses.
Please join me in thanking Dr. Rogers for his invaluable service, and congratulating Dr. Kosmider on her new role.
Sincerely,
Amy J. Goldberg, MD, FACS
The Marjorie Joy Katz Dean
Lewis Katz School of Medicine
I am pleased to announce that Silvia Fossati, PhD, has been appointed the Interim Director of the Alzheimer's Center at Temple University (ACT). Dr. Fossati will succeed Domenico Praticò, MD, who was named the inaugural Scott Richards North Star Charitable Foundation Chair
for Alzheimer’s Research and Director of the Alzheimer’s Center in 2017. I want to thank Dr. Praticò for his service.
Fossati, who joined Temple in 2019 from NYU School of Medicine, served as the Associate Director of ACT and is an Associate Professor of Neural Sciences at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine. She has dedicated her career to unraveling the complexities of neurodegenerative disorders. For over 15 years, her research has focused on the mechanisms of cell death and stress in Alzheimer's Disease and cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA).
A major research emphasis of her group has been the definition of the contributions of vascular system defects to mechanisms and biomarkers of cognitive impairment and dementia, in work bridging the fields of cardiovascular diseases and neurobiology, published in high profile journals such as Aging Cell and Alzheimer’s & Dementia (the journal of the Alzheimer’s Association). The work in Dr. Fossati's laboratory has opened promising avenues for therapeutic discovery for neurodegenerative disorders. Dr. Fossati has received multiple prestigious awards as Principal Investigator, including NIH awards, honors from the American Heart Association and the Alzheimer’s Association, and the PA Cure Award.
In her new role, Dr. Fossati will advance the research mission of ACT by building strong interdisciplinary and translational research collaborations across Katz and Temple, and by recruiting and mentoring new faculty with research focus on neurodegeneration. Dr. Fossati is committed to fostering a culture of collaboration and excellence, inspiring high levels of scholarly productivity, providing mentorship, and offering opportunities for dynamic engagement among faculty, staff, and trainees. Additionally, she will champion innovative teaching programs, and promote diversity and inclusion for students and postdoctoral fellows associated with ACT.
As we begin the new fiscal year, we have much to celebrate at Katz School of Medicine and at Temple, and I am thrilled to have Dr. Fossati among our newest research leadership. Please join me in congratulating and supporting her as she continues to advance the important work of the Alzheimer's Center.
Amy J. Goldberg, MD, FACS
The Marjorie Joy Katz Dean
Lewis Katz School of Medicine