Katherine A. Fitzgerald

Katherine A. Fitzgerald is an Irish-born American molecular biologist and virologist. She is currently working in the Division of Infectious Disease at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She is a leader in the field of innate immunity. She conducts research on many aspects of innate immunity such as the molecular basis of pathogen recognition, the innate immunity to malaria, Type I Interferon gene regulation, and the counter regulation of innate immune recognition.

Fitzgerald received her B.Sc. degree in Biochemistry in 1995 from University College Cork. She received her Ph.D. in 1999 from Trinity College Dublin, studying with Luke A. J. O'Neill.

In 2011, Fitzgerald was a finalist for the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science. In 2015, she was awarded the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) St. Patrick’s Day Science Medal, and she is the first woman to win the award.