Susan Tonkonogy, PhD

Research Summary

Susan Tonkonogy has served as the Scientific Director of the Gnotobiotic Core housed at the College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University (NCSU) since 2000. The Core provides germ-free and gnotobiotic rodents and associated services to members of the Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill. Her role as Core Director to is oversee all aspects of the operation of the gnotobiotic facility, to communicate with Center investigators who use mice and services of the Core, and to provide her expertise regarding experimental design, technical manipulations, and data interpretation. Her research interests focus on the role of the intestinal immune response in the initiation, perpetuation and inhibition of gastrointestinal inflammation. She have published results of studies using germ-free and gnotobiotic mice and rats, primarily in collaboration with CGIBD investigators at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Relevance of Research to CGIBD Mission:  Dr. Tonkonogy is a cellular immunologist whose research focuses on a theme of the CGIBD, namely the role of microbiota in gastrointestinal homeostasis and disease.  She is the longstanding scientific director of the Gnotobiotic Core at NCSU.  She is a member of the CGIBD Executive Committee

CGIBD Focus Area(s):  Microbiome

Collaborators:  Sartor