Meet the Team

Principal Investigator

Dr. Katherine Cahill is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center where she serves as the Medical Director of Clinical Asthma Research. Dr. Cahill received her M.D. from Rutgers - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She completed an Internal Medicine residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center followed by a fellowship in Allergy and Immunology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, both affiliated with Harvard Medical School. After 5 years on Faculty at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, she moved her family to Nashville in 2018 to join the asthma research team at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She has been recognized as a Top Doctor in Nashville since 2019 and in 2021 was recognized by the American Thoracic Society with the Jo Rae Wright Award for her contribution to science. Dr. Cahill has an active research program with the goal to develop new treatments for adult asthma. She serves as the co-Principle Investigator and study physician for the GATA-3 study.

Study Coordinator

Alesia Pruitt is a native of Birmingham, Alabama who moved to Nashville in June 2017 to join the Vanderbilt Coordinating Center. She holds dual degrees from the University of Alabama where she obtained a B.S. in psychology and UAB where she completed a B.S. in biology. Following graduation, she began working in healthcare with pediatric, adult, and geriatric patient populations. Having the opportunity to work in clinical research has always been a goal for her because she enjoys seeing the practical application of scientific knowledge to further improve patients’ quality of life and restore hope for so many individuals. She has previously served on the Junior Board for the American Diabetes Association of Alabama and the UAB Minority Health & Health Disparities Research Center's Young Professionals’ Board. Alesia is currently an active member of the Junior League of Nashville. When she's not working or volunteering, Alesia loves to dance, sing karaoke, travel, catch up on her favorite TV shows, and is a passionate sports fan [Roll Tide! Go Lakers! Go Patriots!].

Co-Investigator

Dr. Melissa Bloodworth is an Allergy & Immunology Clinical Research Fellow at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Bloodworth received her degree in biology at the University of Notre Dame and her medical and doctorate degrees from Vanderbilt University Medical School. Her thesis work focused on the regulation of immune responses, including the role of GLP-1R signaling, during airway inflammation. She completed an internal medicine residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Bloodworth is excited to join the Cahill group in evaluating the potential of GLP-1R agonist drug repurposing for type 2 inflammation. Throughout her career, Dr. Bloodworth hopes to contribute to efforts to treat allergic disease by modulating immune responses.

Co-Investigator

Dr. Stokes Peebles is John and Elizabeth Murray Professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical School where he serves as section chief of Allergy and Immunology and program director of the Allergy and Immunology fellowship program. He graduated with an M.D. degree from Vanderbilt, completed a fellowship in Allergy/Clinical Immunology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and then returned to Vanderbilt where he completed a fellowship in Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Allergy/Immunology, Pulmonary, and Critical Care. Dr. Peebles has a very active research program examining the mechanisms of airway inflammation in asthma. For the GATA-3 study, Dr. Peebles serves as a study physician.

Co-Investigator

Dr. Leonard Bacharier is the Janie Robinson and John Moore Lee Chair in Pediatrics, Professor in Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Section Chief of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Scientific Director of the Center for Clinical and Translational Research and Director of the Center for Pediatric Asthma Research. Dr. Bacharier is a pediatric allergist/immunologist with extensive experience in pediatric asthma research, particularly clinical trials. He has led and participated in multiple federally-funded multicenter clinical trials in childhood asthma. Dr. Bacharier is recognized as a global leader in the treatment of asthma and serves on the Global Initiative for Asthma Science Committee. For the GATA-3 study, Dr. Bacharier serves as a study physician.

Co-Investigator

Dr. Kevin Niswender is an Associate Profess of Medicine and Director of the Clinical Research Center at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). He completed his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees at Vanderbilt University followed by a residency in Internal Medicine and a fellowship in Endocrinology at the University of Washington Medical Center. He is a physician and research in the field of metabolism and obesity at VUMC and the VA Healthcare System and has extensive clinical and research experience with GLP-1 receptor agonists. For the GATA-3 study, Dr. Niswender serves as a study physician.

Co-Investigator

Dr. Gordon R. Bernard is Executive Vice President for Research and Chief Research Officer, Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). He joined the faculty at Vanderbilt in 1981 as a physician scientist and became Medical Director for the Medical Intensive Care Unit and Director for Pulmonary and Critical Care research programs in 1983. Dr. Bernard’s research has primarily focused on improving the care and outcomes of critically ill patients with sepsis and the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and he established the Vanderbilt Coordinating Center in 1987 to support the large multi-institutional and international clinical investigations he was leading. He currently serves as Executive Vice President for Research and as the Director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research at VUMC. For the GATA-3 study, Dr. Bernard serves as co-Principle Investigator and oversees study start to finish along with Dr. Cahill.