Research Areas

Immunology

In the area of Immunology, the research within the Department focuses on clinical, basic science, and translational research. The scientists engaged in this work are highly collaborative, contributing expertise from departments within the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, and Public Health. The individual research programs reflect this diversity, with research topics including lymphocyte development and tolerance, lymphocyte function, autoimmune diseases, innate immunity, transplantation, and the immune response to bacteria and viruses. The strength of the research faculty has been recognized by the award of an Immunology Training Grant from the National Institutes of Health for the past 23 years, and by the success of the individual scientists in obtaining extramural funding.

Microbial Pathogenesis

A wide range of bacterial, fungal and protozoan pathogens are studied by this group. Faculties are drawn from Departments of Biology, Cell Biology, Medicine and Pharmacology. Research efforts include studies on signal transduction, response-regulator systems, molecular mechanisms of pathogen-host interactions, evasion and manipulation of host immunity, drug resistance, vaccine development and epidemiology of disease. This group is highly interactive with one another and with faculty in other groups and departments as evidenced by the preponderance of co-authored manuscripts, shared grants and resources.

Virology

Viral infections in humans constitute a huge world-wide disease burden. While smallpox has been eliminated from the planet, other diseases such as polio, influenza, measles and HIV/AIDS still pose large unsolved human public health threats. In addition, as humans traverse the globe with increasing ease and venture into previously isolated areas, new or emerging viruses pose additional challenges for detection and treatment. Representatives of both established and emerging viruses are under intensive study by faculty within the Department, and include HIV, and members of the herpesvirus, flavivirus, alphavirus, orthomyxovirus, and coronavirus families. These 17 faculty are drawn from the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, and Public Health, as well as the College of Arts and Sciences. Their research programs reflect broad interests in vaccine/vector development, viral pathogenesis, host innate responses to infection, viral oncogenesis, virus evolution, and basic aspects of replication. The strength and breadth of the virology research faculty has been recognized nationally by a pre-doctoral Virology Training Grant award from the National Institutes of Health. For detailed descriptions of research activities in individual labs please follow links under "Research Areas" and then "Virology" from the home page.

Sections

Research Areas

Immunology

Microbial Pathogenesis

Virology