Dr. Michael Yeaman is a professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine, chief of the Division of Molecular Medicine, and vice chair of the Department of Medicine, Harbor–UCLA Medical Center. His pioneering discoveries in the fields of infection and immunology have translated directly to the design and development of innovative anti-infective agents and strategies addressing the threat of antibiotic-resistant infections. Among these, Dr. Yeaman discovered the gamma-core of host defense peptides that confer innate immunity. He also discovered structural homologies in the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus and the fungus Candida albicans that enabled the first cross-kingdom vaccine targeting both organisms. Phase I and Phase II clinical trials of this vaccine have now been successfully completed. He and colleagues founded NovaDigm Therapeutics, Inc., to develop this and other innovative vaccines addressing health care-associated infections. Dr. Yeaman has published over 200 scholarly works, which appear in high impact journals including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and Nature, and serves on editorial boards of leading journals. Dr. Yeaman has maintained continuous U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for over two decades and is an NIH–appointed expert in infectious diseases and immunology. He holds 20 issued U.S. patents in anti-infectives and immunotherapeutics, and has received numerous research and teaching awards, including the Weitzman Memorial Research Award (Harbor–UCLA Medical Center), the Alexander Research Award (American Heart Association) and the National Research Service Award (NIH). Dr. Yeaman is chair advisor to the Guthy–Jackson Charitable Foundation and its mission to cure neuromyelitis optica. On a related note, Dr. Yeaman is a member of the American Society of Composers and Performers, and his original musical works have been acclaimed by the Los Angeles Times. His music is available on iTunes®, the Pandora®Music Genome, Amazon®and other leading digital storefronts. He is a pioneer in the use of music and art in medicine, focusing on therapeutic neuroplasticity.