School of Medicine


Showing 11-20 of 41 Results

  • Mark M. Davis

    Mark M. Davis

    Burt and Marion Avery Family Professor

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMolecular mechanisms of lymphocyte recognition and differentiation; Systems immunology and human immunology; vaccination and infection.

  • Dylan Dodd

    Dylan Dodd

    Assistant Professor of Pathology and of Microbiology and Immunology

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsHarnessing the gut microbiome to treat human disease.

  • Elizabeth Egan

    Elizabeth Egan

    Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Infectious Diseases) and of Microbiology and Immunology
    On Leave from 10/07/2024 To 12/05/2024

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMalaria is a parasitic disease transmitted by mosquitos that is a leading cause of childhood mortality globally. Public health efforts to control malaria have historically been hampered by the rapid development of drug resistance. The goal of our research is to understand the molecular determinants of critical host-pathogen interactions in malaria, with a focus on the erythrocyte host cell. Our long-term goal is to develop novel approaches to prevent or treat malaria and improve child health.

  • Shirit Einav

    Shirit Einav

    Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and of Microbiology and Immunology

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur basic research program focuses on understanding the roles of virus-host interactions in viral infection and disease pathogenesis via molecular and systems virology single cell approaches. This program is combined with translational efforts to apply this knowledge for the development of broad-spectrum host-centered antiviral approaches to combat emerging viral infections, including dengue, coronaviruses, encephalitic alphaviruses, and Ebola, and means to predict progression to severe disease.

  • Stephen J. Galli, MD

    Stephen J. Galli, MD

    Mary Hewitt Loveless, MD, Professor in the School of Medicine and Professor of Pathology and of Microbiology and Immunology
    On Partial Leave from 10/01/2024 To 12/05/2024

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe goals of Dr. Galli's laboratory are to understand the regulation of mast cell and basophil development and function, and to develop and use genetic approaches to elucidate the roles of these cells in health and disease. We study both the roles of mast cells, basophils, and IgE in normal physiology and host defense, e.g., in responses to parasites and in enhancing resistance to venoms, and also their roles in pathology, e.g., anaphylaxis, food allergy, and asthma, both in mice and humans.

  • Leonor García-Bayona

    Leonor García-Bayona

    Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe human microbiome is evolving rapidly (i.e. over our lifetimes) following changes in modern lifestyles, especially in industrialized countries. The García-Bayona lab seeks to understand how horizontal gene transfer shapes interactions within the human intestinal microbiota and what the implications of this widespread phenomenon are for community properties relevant to human health (for example, the ability of the gut community to recover after antibiotic treatment). There is currently only a superficial understanding of the different cellular roles of most exchanged genes, the mechanisms governing their spread and their effect community dynamics. Our lab works on bridging the existing gap between the current systems-level observational studies and a mechanistic understanding through bacterial genetics and physiology. We take a bottom-up approach (from genes to communities), incorporating genetics, metagenomics, population analyses and experimental evolution in tractable bacterial consortia.

  • Matthias Garten

    Matthias Garten

    Assistant Professor of Microbiology and of Bioengineering

    BioMatthias Garten, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the department of Immunology and Microbiology and the department of Bioengineering. He is a membrane biophysicist who is driven by the question of how the malaria parasite interfaces with its host-red blood cell, how we can use the unique mechanisms of the parasite to treat malaria and to re-engineer cells for biomedical applications.

    He obtained a physics master's degree from the Dresden University of Technology, Germany with a thesis in the laboratory of Dr. Petra Schwille and his Ph.D. life sciences from the University Paris Diderot, France through his work in the lab of Dr. Patricia Bassereau (Insitut Curie) investigating electrical properties of lipid membranes and protein - membrane interactions using biomimetic model systems, giant liposomes and planar lipid membranes.

    In his post-doctoral work at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda in the laboratory of Dr. Joshua Zimmerberg, he used molecular, biophysical and quantitative approaches to research the malaria parasite. His work led to the discovery of structure-function relationships that govern the host cell – parasite interface, opening research avenues to understand how the parasite connects to and controls its host cell.

  • Jeffrey S.  Glenn, M.D., Ph.D.

    Jeffrey S. Glenn, M.D., Ph.D.

    Joseph D. Grant Professor and Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Glenn's primary interest is in molecular virology, with a strong emphasis on translating this knowledge into novel antiviral therapies. Other interests include exploitation of hepatic stem cells, engineered human liver tissues, liver cancer, and new biodefense antiviral strategies.

  • Michael R. Howitt

    Michael R. Howitt

    Assistant Professor of Pathology and of Microbiology and Immunology

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur lab is broadly interested in how intestinal microbes shape our immune system to promote both health and disease. Recently we discovered that a type of intestinal epithelial cell, called tuft cells, act as sentinels stationed along the lining of the gut. Tuft cells respond to microbes, including parasites, to initiate type 2 immunity, remodel the epithelium, and alter gut physiology. Surprisingly, these changes to the intestine rely on the same chemosensory pathway found in oral taste cells. Currently, we aim to 1) elucidate the role of specific tuft cell receptors in microbial detection. 2) To understand how protozoa and bacteria within the microbiota impact host immunity. 3) Discover how tuft cells modulate surrounding cells and tissue.

  • KC Huang

    KC Huang

    Professor of Bioengineering and of Microbiology and Immunology

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsHow do cells determine their shape and grow?
    How do molecules inside cells get to the right place at the right time?

    Our group tries to answer these questions using a systems biology approach, in which we integrate interacting networks of protein and lipids with the physical forces determined by the spatial geometry of the cell. We use theoretical and computational techniques to make predictions that we can verify experimentally using synthetic, chemical, or genetic perturbations.