Manal Youssef-Bessler, MD, the founder of the Infectious Disease Center of New Jersey, attended Cairo University Faculty of Medicine in Cairo, Egypt. She completed her Internal Medicine Residency and Infectious Diseases Fellowship at the University of Medicine and Dentistry- New Jersey Medical School. Dr. Bessler is Board certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases. She is a member of the Infectious Disease Society of America, Infectious Disease Society of New Jersey, American Medical Association and the American College of Physicians.

Dr. Bessler has received several honors and awards including the Saint Barnabas Medical Center Physician Excellence in Healthcare award and Most Outstanding Subspecialist of the Year as well as patient choice awards in several consecutive years. In addition she has received nominations as a Top Infectious Diseases Doctor from  Castle Connolly, NJ Monthly, Inside Jersey and New York Magazine for many consecutive years.

Dr. Bessler is affiliated with the Wound and Burn Healing Center at Saint Barnabas Medical Center and the Wound Healing Center at Hackettstown Regional Medical Center.

Her areas of interest include management of severe sepsis and septic shock, diagnosis and management of fever of unknown origin, pulmonary and intra-abdominal infections, diabetic wound infections and diabetic wounds management, tick born diseases, HIV care, Hepatitis B infection and Infection Control.

Janet Lin-Torre, M.D. attended Johns Hopkins University and NY Medical College. She completed an Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases fellowship, at Mount Sinai Medical Center in NY and is board certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Lin-Torre served as Chief of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiologist at Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center.

She is currently an attending physician at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, Associate Medical Director at Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation and Hospital Epidemiologist at Summit Oaks Hospital. She is a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. In addition, Dr. Lin-Torre is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, NJ Infectious Diseases Society, Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, American Society for Microbiology and American Association of Tissue Banking.

Dr Lin-Torre serves on the Board of Health for Millburn, NJ and is a member of the Gender Disparities in ID Task Force for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. In addition, she is an alumni interviewer for Johns Hopkins University. Her professional interests include infection control, antibiotic monitoring and nosocomial infections.

Dr. Marjut Kokkola-Korpela is a native of Finland, where she finished her Medical School in the University of Kuopio. After moving to the United States, she completed her internal medicine training at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh,PA.

Dr. Kokkola-Korpela completed her infectious disease training at the combined program of the University of Chicago and University of Illinois in Chicago. Dr. Kokkola-Korpela received extended training in HIV and research at Seton Hall University Infectious Disease program rotating at St Michael's Medical Center, St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center and JFK Medical Center. Dr. Kokkola-Korpela is currently an attending physician at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, St Clare Hospital, and Hackettstown Regional Medical Center. Her professional areas of interest include wound care, tropical diseases, HIV/AIDS, and women's health.

Dr Tatiana Mouravskaia is a native of Russia and received her medical degree from Saint Petersburg State Medical Academy. She completed her residency at UMMC downtown campus and did her infectious diseases training at Montefiore Hospital Yeshiva university.

Dr. Mouravskaia has great interset in HIV which she practiced for over 20 years in addition she has interests in travel medicine, Lyme disease and wound care. She is currently an attending physician at SBMC and kessler institute for rehabilitation where she is also on the  infection control committee. Dr. Mouravskaia is a member of the international society of travel medicine where she is holding a certification and is also a member of the Infectious Disease Society of America.

Dr. Mouravskaia is board certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases and is fluent in Russian.

Michael A. Gelman, MD, PhD, attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Washington in Seattle and his Infectious Diseases fellowship at Stanford University. Dr. Gelman is board certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases. He is affiliated with the James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Bronx, NY), where he is the Medical Director of the Infection Control Program and of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program. He also holds an assistant professorship in the Department of Medicine at the Icahn Mount Sinai School of Medicine (New York, NY).

Dr. Gelman's areas of interest, in addition to antimicrobial stewardship and infection control, include the treatment of HIV, Hepatitis C, and diabetic foot osteomyelitis; he is an investigator on clinical trials in all of the preceding areas. He is also interested in readiness for and response to special pathogens such as Ebola and avian influenza.

Aron Berhane, PA-C joined the Infectious Disease Center of New Jersey from previous work experience in pathology and laboratory medicine as a Medical Technologist. In 2013, Aron completed Medical Laboratory Science Internship Program at the University of Michigan Health System and earned his B.S. in Clinical Laboratory Science from Wayne State University. Aron has maintained his American Society of Clinical Pathology board certification as a Medical Laboratory Scientist. He completed his Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences (MSBS) degree with a Physician Assistant concentration from The University of Toledo in 2018. He is board certified through the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.

Michelle Misskerg MSN FNP-BC CEN CPEN has joined Infectious Disease Center after six years as a registered nurse specializing in emergency care and ten years prehospitally as an EMT. Michelle is board certified in family medicine and able to see patients across the lifespan. She also holds extra certifications in emergency and pediatric emergency care She earned her masters in nursing as part of the inaugural class of nurse practitioners at Ramapo College of New Jersey.

Jennifer Figueroa PA-C joined the Infectious Disease Center of NJ with previous many years of work experience in many different fields, she has worked in Primary Care for 2 years, Pediatrics for 4 years, Gastroenterology for 8 years, and Hematology Oncology for 3 years.  Jennifer completed her Undergraduate BS at Rutgers Newark NJIT and went on to do her Masters in Physician Assistant at UMDNJ in Piscataway NJ and graduated in 2008. She is board certified through the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.

Chris Caruso, PA-C joined the Infectious Disease Center of New Jersey in 2020. Prior to becoming a physician assistant (PA) Chris was an emergency medical technician (EMT) for 3 years, a pharmacy technician for 2 years, and a medical scribe for 6 months. In 2015 Chris earned his Bachelors of Science in Health Science Studies from Quinnipiac University. In 2020 he earned his Masters of Science in Physician Assistant Studies from Marist College. Chris is board certified through the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.

Kristen Pluchino, PA-C has experience practicing Primary Care, Urgent Care and Occupational Medicine for a year and a half. She was accepted to a 3+3 combined program at Rutgers University, earning her Bachelors of Science in Public Health and her Masters of Science in Physician Assistant Studies in 2019. Kristen is board certified through the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.