Infectious Diseases Research
Research in this area focuses on the study of the molecular, genetic and immunologic responses to pathogenic bacteria and viruses, viral replication, and the propagation of prion diseases.
Faculty in Infectious Diseases
Ramesh K. Akkina
Professor (Microbiology, Immunology & Pathology); Ph.D. Minnesota 1982. Virology; AIDS gene therapy; stem cells;
viral vectors; RNA therapuetics.
Jonathan O. Carlson
Professor (Microbiology, Immunology & Pathology); Ph.D. California (Berkeley) 1974. Molecular virology; molecular biology of mosquitoes and arboviruses.
Chaoping Chen
Assistant Professor (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology);Ph.D. Purdue University 1999. Molecular and Cell Biology of retrovirus assembly and budding.
Stephen Chisholm
Assistant Professor (Bioagricutural Sicences & Pest Management); Ph.D. Washington State University 2000. Interactions between host and pathogen proteomes that mediate bacterial pathogenesis.
Stephen W. Dow
Associate Professor (Microbiology, Immunology & Pathology and Clinical Sciences); Ph.D.; Colorado State University, 1992. Innate immunity and the lung; bacterial pathogenesis; cancer immunology; vaccines.
Mercedes Gonzalez-Juarrero
Assistant Professor (Biology); Ph.D. Plum Island 1990. Study of macrophages and dendritic cells during chronic inflammatory responses.
Leonard D. Pearson
Professor (Microbiology, Immunology Pathology); Ph.D. California (Davis) 1970. Immunology (immunity to lentiviruses, herpes viruses, pox viruses), monoclonal antibodies.
Olve B. Peersen
Associate Professor (Biochemestry & Molecular Biology); Ph.D., Yale University, 1994. Structural and biophysical studies of viral polymerases and picornaviral replication complexes.
Herbert P. Schweizer
Professor (Microbiology, Immunology Pathology); Ph.D. University of Konstanz, Germany (1983). Molecular genetics and biology of pathogenic bacteria; cell-cell communicaton; multidrug resistance.
Erica L. Suchman
Associate Professor (Microbiology, Immunology Pathology); Ph.D. California, Irvine 1994. Effects of densonucleosis viruses on mosquitoes for use as possible biocontrol agents.
Jorge M. Vivanco
Assistant Professor (Horticulture & Landscape Architecture); Ph.D.Pennsylvania 1999. Biochemical, molecular and metabolic profiling approaches to root exudations processes; biology and biochemistry of ribosome-inactivating proteins in plants.
Assistant Professor (Microbiology, Immunology & Pathology); Ph.D Imerial College, London. Post-transcriptional control of gene expression in myotonic dystrophy. Interactions between viruses and the cellular mRNA decay machinery.
Jeffrey Wilusz
Professor and Head (Microbiology, Immunology & Pathology); Ph.D. Duke, 1985. Mechanisms of regulated post-transcriptional control in mammalian cells.
Mark Zabel
Assistant Professor (Microbiology, Immunoloby & Pathology); Ph.D. University of Utah 2001. Prion immunology.