Ben Kercsmar
He/Him
I am gay and I am a clinical research nurse.//
I am a clinical research nurse in the department of infectious diseases at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. I have a background in research biology and critical care cardiac nursing. I work on studies focused on everything from vaccine safety (COVID, RSV) to epidemiology (prevalence of vaccine-preventable diseases) to immunobiology (T cell function, gut microbiome). It is my job to ensure research procedures are conducted safely & to provide assessment and care for human research subjects. As the public-facing member of a research team, I spend a lot of time teaching the public about clinical research and encouraging participation in studies. To be able to recruit from a diverse population, this requires understanding how different people may view medical care & research, and how life experience and historical trauma can affect their trust of medical professionals. Outside of work, I am an avid gardener & cook, and a native plant and bird nerd!