Christopher Romero, MD, PhD

Medical Director and Principal Investigator
Headlands Research
 

 

Dr. Romero serves as Medical Director for Headlands Research and as Principal Investigator (PI) at Headlands Research Brownsville. He has a combined MD/PhD degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston. His NIAID-supported dissertation work in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology investigated the phenomenon of immunomodulation and its therapeutic potential for sepsis. He received the McLaughlin Fellowship, Blocker Scholar Award, and multiple NSRF awards for his work in immunology and vaccine- related research. He also completed the course in tropical and travel medicine at the UTMB Center for Tropical Diseases.

He graduated from the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Scripps Green Hospital in La Jolla, CA, and was awarded the Edmund L. Keeney, MD Award for Leadership in Medicine and Charles and Virginia Feld Award. Dr. Romero practiced medicine in one of the most underserved communities in the Rio Grande Valley. His experience treating emerging and neglected tropical infectious diseases along the border region includes Zika, chikungunya, dengue, murine typhus, and Hansen’s disease.

Dr. Romero joined the Valley Baptist Medical Center (VBMC) administration, overseeing the medical staff, clinical informatics, and research departments and was named Physician of the Year (2019). He collaborated with local, state, and federal resources in the COVID-19 pandemic response. He joined PanAmerican Clinical Research, LLC, as Medical Director for USA Operations. He served as the PI for multiple clinical trials, with a heavy focus on novel COVID-19 therapies and Phase I-III vaccine trials. He also worked closely with the public health sector and US-Mexico border entities to facilitate mass COVID-19 vaccination efforts in binational events.

Dr. Romero served on the steering committee of the Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard, where he helped expand inclusivity and diversity in clinical trials. He is a member of multiple medical organizations/ societies, including the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), and has been appointed an American College of Physicians fellow.