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BBS PhD Program

Infection and Immunity

Faculty Name and PictureResearch Area(s)

Craig Altier

Craig Altier

Infection/agent; molecular basis of Salmonella pathogenesis; the genetic and environmental control of epithelial cell invasion
Ana Bento in the CVM Atrium second floor balcony.

Ann I. Bento

In my lab we seek to understand the dynamics of biological populations and epidemics, focusing on how to bring experimental and observational data together with mathematical theory. Tackling biological questions of public application and importance. The lab ongoing research falls into the following themes: (i) pathogen evolution and phylodynamics; (ii) seasonal disease transmission; (iii) anthropogenic effects (e.g. vaccines); (iv) adaptive behavior.

Ilana Brito smiling in front of a natural background.

Ilana Brito

Pioneering new methods to detect horizontal gene transfer in natural microbial communities to understand the rate and triggers of horizontal gene transfer; the impact of human microbiome diversity on world global health issues - lab
Nicolas Buchon wearing a black polo shirt in front of a gray background.

Nicolas Buchon

Host/microbe relationships and control of intestinal stem cell behavior in homeostasis and disease - lab
Sarah Caddy (left) with her black and white dog (right)

Sarah Caddy

understanding the protective activity of non-neutralising antibodies; unravel the negative activities of antiviral antibodies; maternal antibodies - lab
Rafael Kroon Campos wearing a collared shirt and tie.

Rafael Kroon Campos

Arbovirus-host interactions, discovery of host restriction and pro-viral factors, RNA biology of viruses and host cells, mechanisms of viral emergence, epidemic preparedness. - lab


 

Pamela Chang wearing a blue collared shirt and a black blazer.

Pamela Chang

Immunity/host; host/microbe interactions; gut microbiome - lab

Yung-Fu Chang wearing a collared shirt.

Yung-Fu Chang

Infection/agent; mechanisms of infection, particularly leptospira and salmonella

Soon Hon Cheong wearing a black polo shirt.

Soon Hon Cheong

Cellular and molecular medicine; developmental and reproductive biology; infectious diseases; population medicine and epidemiology; structural and functional biology - lab
Rory Chien

Chia-Ching (Rory) Chien

Infectious diseases and host-pathogen interactions, pulmonary pathology and respiratory diseases, tick-borne pathogens such as Ehrlichia and Anaplasma spp. associated diseases and immunopathology, diagnostic pathology and the development of diagnostic tools.
Aimee Colbath wearing a black button-up blouse.

Aimee Colbath

therapeutic interventions for musculoskeletal disease including osteoarthritis, fracture repair and tendon/ligament disease
Ruth Collins wearing a black top with white stripes, a black and white beaded necklace, and black glasses.

Ruth Collins

Infection/agent; pharmacology; cancer cell biology; small GTPase regulation of intracellular traffic and cellular growth control - lab
Brian Crane wearing a brown dress shirt with mandala design.

Brian Crane

Protein redox chemistry; electron-transfer reactions; mechanisms of signal transduction; circadian clocks; protein photosensors; bacterial chemotaxis; receptor signaling; nitric oxide enzymology; metallobiochemistry - lab

 

Kevin Cummings wearing a white collared shirt with light blue lines.

Kevin Cummings

Application of epidemiologic approaches to investigate the ecology and transmission of Salmonella and other foodborne pathogens among a wide variety of hosts

Susan Daniel wearing a black top standing in front of a brown background.

Susan Daniel

Dr. Daniel leads a research group of biomolecular engineers working to understand cell membrane functions and the biological processes that happen within them. Her group pioneered the use of “cell-free” biomembrane platforms for re-creating cellular processes on chip. Much of the work they do has impact in human health or advancing biotechnologies for the good of humankind. - lab
Matthew DeLisa in a gray background

Matthew DeLisa

Infection/agent; molecular biotechnology; protein biogenesis and folding pathways; protein engineering - lab
Diego Diel wearing a suit.

Diego Diel

To understand the molecular mechanisms underlying virus-host interactions, focusing on the mechanisms underlying viral immune evasion that contribute to virus virulence and disease pathogenesis - Lab
Mariana Diel de Amorim wearing a blazer and a white button-up shirt.

Mariana Diel de Amorim

equine theriogenology; equine maternal recognition of pregnancy; equine endometritis
Tobias Doerr in a lab wearing a light blue collared shirt.

Tobias Doerr

Cell envelope biology of Gram-negative pathogens, antibiotic resistance, tolerance and mechanism of action; microbial stress responses - lab
Anushka Dongre wearing a light tan blazer and a navy blue button-up.

Anushka Dongre

Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition as a driver of resistance to anti-tumor immunity - lab

Maria Julia Bevilaqua Felippe wearing a black button-up.

Maria Julia Bevilaqua Felippe

Immunity/host; cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in B cell response; neonatal immunology and response to vaccination; immunomodulation using biologic response modifiers; cancer immunotherapy; characterization of primary and secondary immunodeficiencies - lab
Julia Finklestein wearing a black top in front of the polychromic stringed artwork in MVR.

Julia Finkelstein

To elucidate the role of iron, vitamin B12, and folate in the etiology of anemia and adverse pregnancy outcomes, and inform the development of interventions to improve the health of mothers and young children
Andrew Flyak in a gray background wearing a turquoise green shirt.

Andrew Flyak

human antibody response to viral pathogens; use immunologic and biochemistry assays and use structural biology techniques to “see” how antibodies bind and neutralize viral pathogens - Lab
Deborah Fowell wearing a navy-blue blazer and a polka dotted blouse outside of the CVM complex.

Deborah Fowell

Regulation of immunity at tissue sites of infection and autoimmunity, immune imaging, intravital multiphoton microscopy - lab
 
Amandine Gamble in front of a gray background.

Amandine Gamble

I investigate what drives hosts’ contributions to pathogen dynamics across biological scales, from host-pathogen molecular interactions to host species interactions. To do so, I combine theoretical, observational, and experimental approaches, and consider various study systems in the lab and in the field, including emerging bat-borne viruses and their hosts, and bacterial pathogens of endangered seabirds. I collaborate with stakeholders to translate scientific outputs into sustainable, targeted solutions against pathogen threats, with the focus on ecological interventions.
Dr. Mason Jager wearing a gray blazer, light blue collared shirt, and a bow tie.

Mason Jager

host-pathogen interactions with a specific emphasis on viral pathogenesis; association of novel viruses with clinical disease; use traditional pathology, molecular virology, and cell biology to study virus distribution, tissue tropism, and host factors required for disease progression
Shaoyi Jiang wearing a gray blazer and a light blue collared shirt.

Shaoyi Jiang

design and development of functional zwitterionic materials for biomedical and engineering applications - lab
Toshi Kawate in a grey background with a blue-lined black windbreaker and black glasses.

Toshi Kawate

Structures and mechanisms of membrane proteins that regulate extracellular signaling - lab
Satoshi Kimura in front of an off-white background wearing a light salmon-colored dress shirt.

Satoshi Kimura

Kimura lab focuses on translation mechanisms in bacterial pathogens.
Colleen Lau wearing a black shirt.

Colleen Lau

NK cells adaptive features to explore immune memory in context of classic antigen-dependent and antigen-independent memory responses. Multi-omic approaches with genetic mouse models to interrogate in vivo, in vitro, and in silico to generate an immune memory program. - Lab
Brian Lazzaro wearing a grey shirt outside.

Brian Lazzaro

The evolutionary and functional genetics of insect-pathogen interactions - lab
Esak Lee in a grey suit and wearing black glasses while standing in front of a wall of windows.

Esak Lee

The laboratory is currently focused on further advancing the novel 3D organ-on-chip systems, as well as developing both cellular and molecular tools and in vivo models, to better understand the mechanisms through which cells regulate their response to biological and mechanical cues - lab
Cynthia Leifer wearing a deep blue blazer and blouse with a pearled necklace along an off-white background.

Cynthia Leifer

Immunity/host; understanding innate immunity from the receptors that detect microbes to how innate immune cells react to changes in their environment during inflammatory processes - lab
Sabine Mann in a navy-blue jumpsuit in front of at least three cows.

Sabine Mann

Metabolic diseases and insulin signaling; nutrition; epidemiology; metabolic and nutritional immunology
Mandy McGeachy standing by the 2nd floor balcony of the CVM Atrium.

Mandy McGeachy

we are working to understand how Th17 cells develop and are influenced to be ‘good’ or ‘bad’ in their functions - lab
Saurabh Mehta standing in front of dangling polychrome figures at MVR.

Saurabh Mehta

Global health (active research projects in India, East Africa, and Latin America); infectious disease epidemiology, particularly HIV, Tuberculosis, and neglected tropical diseases; nutritional interventions and nutritional modulation of the immune response - lab
Colin Parrish wearing a light blue collared shirt.

Colin Parrish

Emergence of new viral diseases in dogs; canine influenza viruses: emergence, spread, and ways to stop the spread; how parvovirus can pass from species to species - lab

Joseph Peters wearing a light green button-up with a white shirt underneath

Joseph Peters

We are generally interested in genomic stability and chromosome evolution, especially how these are impacted by mobile DNA elements. We have a special interest in molecular mechanisms mobile elements capable of moving between positions in the genome called transposons use to limit damage to the host and maximize the process of horizontal transfer. - lab
Raina Plowright sitting in front of a bookcase wearing a black long-sleeved shirt.

Raina Plowright

studied pathogens that spill over from animals to people, the dynamics of zoonotic pathogens in wildlife populations, and pathogens that threaten wildlife conservation
Brian Rudd wearing a blue-collared shirt.

Brian Rudd

Developmental immunology; host response to infection - lab
David Russel smiling while wearing a brown plaid button-up.

David Russell

Infection/agent; the biology of intracellular infection with emphasis on mycobacteria
Luis Schang wearing a navy-blue suit.

Luis Schang

Role of cellular protein, lipids, and glycans play in viral infection
Jeongmin Song wearing a red shirt with white polka dots.

Jeongmin Song

Host-pathogen interactions; bacterial toxins; Salmonella Typhi; bacterial pathogens - lab
Ayshwarya Subramanian

Ashwarya Subramanian

Dr. Subramanian’s research focuses on understanding the principles governing cellular heterogeneity, crosstalk, and evolution in the context of human tissues and disease. Her interdisciplinary research program operates at the nexus of high-throughput data measurements, development and application of computational methods, and experimental design, with key collaborations for clinical samples, and mechanistic validations in vivo and in situ. - lab
Brian VanderVen in the lab wearing a collared shirt.


Brian VanderVen

Physiology of the intracellular pathogen M. tuberculosis - lab
Haiyuan Yu wearing a light blue-collared shirt.


Haiyuan Yu

The Yu group performs research in the broad areas of Network Systems Biology. We use integrated computational-experimental systems biology approaches to determine protein interactions and complex structures on the scale of the whole cell. In particular, we focus on protein-protein and gene regulatory networks and seek to understand how such intricate systems evolve and how their perturbations lead to human diseases, especially autism spectrum disorder and cancer.
Bettina Wagner wearing a red button-up blouse.


Bettina Wagner

Immunity/host; antibody mediated immune mechanisms in infectious disease and vaccination; allergic diseases; neonatal tolerance and allergy predisposition; strategies to develop allergy treatments - lab
Gary Whittaker wearing a suit.


Gary R. Whittaker

Pathogenesis of influenza viruses, coronaviruses and arenaviruses; host range and receptors; activation of membrane fusion; macrophage- and neuro-tropism; anti-viral therapeutics; diagnostic tests; virus-bacteria co-infections - lab
Martin Wiedmann in front of a bulletin board wearing a light blue-collared shirt.

Martin Wiedmann

Infection/agent; molecular pathogenesis of food-borne and zoonotic bacterial diseases
Matthias Wieland wearing a gray sweater and a collared shirt.

Matthias Wieland

Milk harvesting process; support science-based development and on-farm implementation of innovative machine technologies and milking routines; epidemiological studies that deliver data to improve profitability and sustainability

POPULATION & CLINICAL STUDIES

FacultyResearch Area(s)
Rodman Getchell.

Rodman Getchell

Molecular diagnostics and emerging diseases of fish; target animal safety studies for new aquaculture therapeutants and chemicals
Laura Goodman wearing a dark turquoise green blazer and blouse.

Laura Goodman

Population and clinical studies; Pathogen discovery and surveillance, with focus areas on tick-borne disease and antimicrobial resistance; exploring the underlying mechanisms of infectious disease emergence and identifying biomarkers to detect and prevent emerging threats to humans and animals
Renata Ivanek wearing a black top.

Renata Ivanek

Epidemiology and ecology of infectious and foodborne diseases; mathematical modeling; spatial epidemiology; risk assessment; public health
Daryl V. Nydam standing in front of some stables.

Daryl V. Nydam

Population and clinical studies; epidemiology of food security/safety issues related to dairy production medicine; study of economically important infectious diseases, particularly zoonoses; subclinical diseases of peraparturient cattle and reproductive efficacy
Lorin Warnick in a grey suit.

Lorin Warnick

Population and clinical studies; dairy cattle epidemiology; pre-harvest food safety; Salmonellosis in cattle; infectious disease