Microbiology & Immunology (MI) Faculty

Seena Ajit, PhD
Professor
Department: Pharmacology & Physiology
Research Interests: Molecular mechanisms of neuropathic and inflammatory pain, epigenetic regulation, microRNA expression and regulation, biomarkers
Carol Artlett, PhD
Associate Professor
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Inflammasome signaling; IL-1 mediated fibrosis; collagen export from the endoplasmic reticulum; miR-155; small molecule therapeutic development
Jane Azizkhan-Clifford, PhD
Professor Emerita; Associate Dean for Medical Student Research
Department: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Research Interests: Cellular response to DNA damage, regulation of gene expression, cellular proliferation and the cell cycle
Joris Beld, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Chemical biology and microbiology of secondary metabolism in various organisms
Lawrence Bergman, PhD
Professor Emeritus
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Malaria, invasion, global gene expression, merozoite, sporozoite, actin-myosin, microarray, Plasmodium
Elizabeth Blankenhorn, PhD
Professor Emeritus
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Genetic foundations for inherited susceptibility to autoimmune diseases, including diabetes, scleroderma and multiple sclerosis; impact of genetics on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Michael Bouchard, PhD
Director, Division of Biomedical Science Programs; Professor
Department: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Research Interests: Liver cancer; hepatocyte transformation; calcium signaling; apoptosis; cell proliferation; alcohol; novel liver models; hepatitis B virology and hepatic cancer; HBx protein and hepatitis viral replication; calcium signaling and its role in cellular transformation; fatty liver disease and the gut microbiome axis
James M. Burns Jr., PhD
Professor
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Development of protective immunity against malaria induced by immunization with defined subunit vaccines targeting pre-erythrocytic stage, blood-stage and sexual stage parasites.
Alison J. Carey, MD*
Associate Professor
Department: Microbiology & Immunology, Pediatrics
Research Interests: Mechanisms of age-specific host-pathogen responses, respiratory viral infections, infant immune system development, type I interferon response
Irwin Chaiken, PhD
Professor
Department: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Research Interests: Protein interactions in health and disease, structure-based antagonism of HIV-1 Env, recombinant protein/peptidomimetic/small molecule inhibitor design and mechanism of action
Mary Ann Comunale, EdD, MS
Associate Professor; Director, Center for Scientific Communications and Outreach
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Scientific: Proteomic and glycoproteomic analysis to identify early markers of disease, analytical and clinical assay development.
Educational: Innovative learning technologies including gamification and game based learning.
Joshua Earl, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Statistical comparative analysis of whole bacterial genomes, including gene content/variation and homologous gene transfer, specifically in Moraxella catarrhalis and other naso-pharyngeal pathogens; comparative ecological analysis of human microbial communities and their role in pathogenesis; statistical computing using parallel environments and application development.
Garth D. Ehrlich, PhD, FAAAS, FAAM
Professor of Microbiology & Immunology; Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
Department: Microbiology & Immunology, Otolaryngology
Research Interests: Use of large-scale comparative genomic technologies to explore the molecular pathogenesis of chronic infectious diseases and the human genetics of susceptibility and resistance to infection.
Elias El Haddad, PhD
Professor of Medicine and Microbiology & Immunology; MD/PhD Program Director
Department: Medicine: Division of Infectious Diseases & HIV Medicine, Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Human immunology, systems biology, infectious disease pathogenesis and vaccinology
Peter Gaskill, PhD
Associate Professor
Department: Pharmacology & Physiology
Research Interests: HIV, drug abuse, neuroimmunity, neurotransmission, macrophage immunology, dopamine, serotonin, catecholamines
Jennifer Hope, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Immune responses to cancer, chronic virus infection; T cell differentiation; T cell development
Pooja Jain, PhD, MS
Professor; Co-Director, Master of Science in Immunology Program
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Retrovirus-associated cancer and neuroinflammation, myeloid/dendritic cell-based immunotherapy, extracellular vesicles
Stephen Jennings, PhD
Professor; Co-Director, Master of Science in Immunology Program
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Optimal protection from HSV-1 infection provided by interactions between innate and acquired immune responses.
Hangjun Ke, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: pH regulation of the cytosol and other subcellular compartments; bioenergetics of malaria parasites; mitochondrial dynamics, morphology and function
Zachary Klase, PhD
Associate Professor
Department: Pharmacology & Physiology
Research Interests: Molecular neuropathogenesis of HIV-1, epigenetic control of transcription and microRNA involvement in viral diseases
Sandhya Kortagere, PhD
Professor
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Biased signaling of dopamine D3 receptor agonists; developing symptomatic and disease-modifying therapeutics for Parkinson’s disease; etiology of mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease; role of dopamine receptors in neurocognitive impairment in HIV and other neuronal infections
Fred Krebs, PhD
Associate Professor
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Plasma medicine (biomedical applications of non-thermal plasma), with an emphasis on developing preventative and immunotherapeutic approaches to combat human viral pathogens.
Michele Kutzler, PhD
Associate Dean for Faculty; Professor of Medicine and Microbiology & Immunology
Department: Medicine: Division of Infectious Diseases & HIV Medicine, Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Translational research in the area of vaccinology, immunology and infectious disease
Eugenia Lo, PhD
Associate Professor
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Molecular epidemiology, parasite genomics and evolution, host-parasite interactions, global health
Patrick Loll, PhD
Professor
Department: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Research Interests: X-ray crystallography and protein biophysics; integral membrane protein structure; antibiotic resistance; mechanism of drug action; protein homeostasis
Amy T. Ma, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Bacteriology, microbial interactions, gut microbiome, vitamin cross-feeding and biosynthesis
Julio Martin-Garcia, PhD
Associate Professor
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Macrophage tropism and neurotropism of HIV-1; cellular senescence during HIV-1 infection and HIV-1 neuropathogenesis; innate immune responses to HIV-1 infection in macrophages, microglia and dendritic cells; microRNAs and HIV-1
Michael Mather, PhD
Research Associate Professor
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Physiology of malaria parasites, especially mitochondrial functions and energy metabolism
Joshua Chang Mell, PhD
Associate Professor
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Using genomics to investigate the mechanism, consequences and evolution of genetic recombination, especially in pathogenic bacteria.
Olimpia Meucci, MD, PhD
Professor & Chair
Department: Pharmacology & Physiology
Research Interests: HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders and drug abuse, chemokine-based therapeutics, neuroprotective pathways in neuroinflammation
Joanne Morrisey
Research Instructor
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Elise Mosser, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Innovative biomedical graduate education, with a specific focus on online course design and course development
Sonia Navas-Martin, PhD
Professor of Microbiology & Immunology
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Innate immunity, toll-like receptors, neuroimmunology, neuroinflammation, neurodegenerative diseases, blood brain barrier, microglia, astrocytes, neurons, macrophages, viral encephlalitis, demyelination, molecular pathogenesis of neurotropic RNA viruses, cellular senesce, microRNAs, animal models, therapeutic targets
Michael Nonnemacher, PhD
Professor of Microbiology & Immunology
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: HIV-1 genetic variation in disease progression; role of viral accessory proteins in pathogenesis; gene-editing strategies for HIV cure research; HIV/HBV coinfection in cancer; impact of HIV-1 and drugs of abuse on the CNS
Pamela Norton, PhD
Associate Professor
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Characterization of glycoproteomic biomarkers for hepatocellular carcinoma, induction of novel immune responses by agents that alter N-glycan processing
Shendra Passic, MS
Research Instructor
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Variation in HIV-1 genetic and immune markers during disease progression; HIV-1 drug development and microbicides
Vanessa Pirrone, PhD
Associate Professor; Assistant Dean of Admissions
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Impact of HIV infection on colorectal cancer, and the role of the HIV-1 Nef protein; impact of age and HIV/HCV coinfection on HIV-1 replication, pathogenesis and immune activation profiles
Akhil Vaidya, PhD
Professor; Director, Center for Molecular Parasitology
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Understanding basic molecular functioning of malaria parasites with a view to developing new antimalarial drugs.
Brian Wigdahl, PhD
Professor and Chair; Director, Institute for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Disease
Department: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Immunopathogenesis and neuropathogenesis of HIV-1 and HTLV-I infection; transcriptional regulation of retroviral expression; viral sequence diversity and correlations to disease; development of microbicidal agents