Around iCubed, Joe Desroisers is known as a jack-of-all-trades with a wealth of useful information. If there’s a question you have and you’re not quite sure what to do, “Go ask Joe” is the common refrain. It’s been a long, unconventional road for iCubed’s CMI Core lab manager. Before joining academia, Joe did everything from owning and operating his own restaurant, working as a bouncer in establishments around South County, Rhode Island, to sailing the seas as head chef aboard a cruise ship. In his current role at iCubed, Joe continues to do what he’s always done – immerse himself in something new and master it. For his continued dedication to iCubed, Joe has been named Featured Researcher of the Month.

Prior to joining the University of Rhode Island in 2009, Joe worked for two years as a research associate and lab manager at EpiVax, Inc., the sister company of iCubed. There Joe worked on multiple vaccine and de-immunization projects including the de-immunization of factor VIII, botulinum neurotoxin, TSHR, and type 1 diabetes insulin/GAD65 de-immunization.  He also dedicated time to HIV/TB, smallpox and tularemia vaccine projects.

It was at EpiVax, Inc. where Joe met Dr. Annie De Groot, director of iCubed. Upon De Groot’s awarding of the Translational Immunology Research and Accelerated [Vaccine] Development grant (TRIAD), Joe was tapped by De Groot to head to URI to set up the Cell Mediated Immunity (CMI) Core Laboratory. He also became the lead research associate on the multi-pathogen vaccine project and the H. pylori therapeutic vaccine project. Since arriving at iCubed, Joe has played a major role in these projects as well as assisted in research on the HCV vaccine, tick salivome vaccine and DEC 205 de-immunization projects.  Beyond the scope of TRIAD, he has also assisted and taken part in the IFN alpha, TSHR, de-immunization of lysostaphin, and NPB swine flu projects.

Outside the scope of research, Joe has played a large role in numerous workshop and fellowship training seminars organized by iCubed, including the TRIAD Toolkit Training (associated with our yearly Vaccine Renaissance Conference), the TRIAD Summer Fellows Training Grant, the Neglected Tropical Diseases Training Grant, and the Neglected and Emerging Infectious Diseases Fellowship.

Joe received a Bachelor of Science degree in clinical laboratory science from URI in 2008. He’s currently working toward a Master of Science degree in public health laboratory science. His diverse background has not only given him in-depth knowledge on a variety of subjects, but also a unique perspective on learning, one that he uses when welcoming new students coming through iCubed’s doors.

“Although I do enjoy my current role in participating in so many different projects, I enjoy the training and teaching aspect the most,” said Desrosiers. “It is a great feeling introducing eager students to new and exciting scientific ideas and concepts, and being present at the moment when it begins to click in their heads, and a new future scientist is born.”