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Infectious Disease

About

biodefenseResearch in Infectious Diseases at UVA provides rich interdisciplinary experiences in the molecular biology, immunology, cell biology, and pathogenesis of infectious diseases as well as vaccine development, therapeutics and diagnostic technologies for infectious agents.  Trainees have opportunities to conduct research with over 30 different mentors from eight different departments

The Infectious Diseases (ID) Training Program is currently in its 5th decade of consecutive NIH funding. This program brings together an internationally recognized clinical program in infectious diseases and international health and superb basic molecular and cellular biologists.  The core philosophy of the program is that interactions between basic scientists and clinicians in training  and research will spark innovative approaches to diagnose, treat and prevent infections

A basic philosophy of the program is that through interactions of basic scientists and clinicians in research and training, will come the breakthrough science that leads to new interventions to diagnose, treat and prevent infections.

The Infectious Diseases Training Program features side-by-side education of predoctoral students, M.D.s, and Ph.D. postdoctoral fellows. Training is enriched by research-in-progress sessions, seminar series, and journal clubs that integrate both clinical and basic research aspects of infectious diseases.

The Global Biothreats Training Program focuses on the ways that key infectious agents of worldwide notoriety cause disease. Resources for this program include a well-equipped Biosafety Level 3 facility for trained and approved users. The Global Biothreats Training Program features coursework and lectures that highlight not only mechanisms of pathogenesis, but also the regulatory, policy, and societal impacts of global biothreats.

Faculty

  • Brown, Michael G.

    Natural Killer Cells, Viral Immunity, Genetic basis of host resistance to viral infection, Tumor immunity, Immune cell regulation

  • Cai, Chuanxi

    Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics

  • Casanova, James E.

    Role of Arf family GTPases in vesicular transport and cytoskeleton assembly.
    Cell Biology of bacterial pathogenesis.
    The innate immune response to bacterial infection.

  • Cliffe, Anna

    Herpes Simplex Virus Infection of Neurons

  • Columbus, Linda

    Biophysical Chemistry: Membrane protein structure, function, and dynamics

  • Cowardin, Carrie A.

    The maternal and infant microbiome in childhood growth and immunity

  • Criss, Alison K.

    Cellular and molecular mechanisms of Neisserial pathogenesis

  • Derré, Isabelle

    Host/pathogen Interaction - Chlamydia Infection

  • Dremel, Sarah

    Herpesvirus gene expression & RNA biology

  • Egelman, Edward H.

    Structure and Function of Macromolecular Complexes Using Electron Microscopy

  • Engel, Daniel A.

    Drug Discovery and Molecular Biology of Pathogenic RNA viruses: Ebola, SARS-CoV-2, Influenza and Zika

  • Ewald, Sarah

    Innate immunity, chronic disease, host-parasite interactions, Toxoplasma gondii, proteomics

  • Gahlmann, Andreas

    Super-resolution fluorescence imaging of bacterial cells

  • Garcia-Blanco, Mariano A.

    RNA-protein interactions in antiviral immunity and autoimmune diseases.

  • Guler, Jennifer

    Mechanisms of Genetic and Metabolic Adaptation in the Malaria Parasite, Plasmodium falciparum

  • Hahn, Young S.

    Immune regulation for HCV infection and chronic liver inflammation

  • Hammarskjöld, Marie-Louise

    Post Transcriptional Gene Regulation and the Molecular Biology of Human Retroviruses

  • Harris, Tajie H.

    Immune response to infectious disease in the CNS

  • Hughes, Molly A.

    Biodefense and emerging pathogens

  • Kedes, Dean H.

    Human Herpes virus associated with malignancy, including Kaposi's Sarcoma

  • Kendall, Melissa M.

    Bacterial cell signaling, host-pathogen interactions, intestinal pathogens

  • Laurie, Gordon W.

    Restoration of Homeostasis in Disease

  • Newman, Laura Elizabeth

    Mitochondrial regulation of innate immune and antiviral signaling

  • Papin, Jason A.

    Systems biology, infectious disease, cancer, toxicology, metabolic engineering

  • Petri, William A.

    Immune mechanisms of defense against COVID-19 and enteric (diarrheal) infections

  • Ramakrishnan, Girija

    Microbial Pathogenesis

  • Rekosh, David M.

    Human Immunodeficiency Virus Gene Expression; Human Endogenous Viruses; SARS-CoV-2 Protein Trafficking; Post-transcriptional Gene Regulation

  • Spencer, Brady

    Gram-positive pathogenesis; type VII secretion; impact of secreted effectors on host-pathogen interactions and immune responses

  • Sun, Jie

    Viral immunology, T cells, Macrophages, Tissue repair

  • Swami, Nathan

    Molecular and bioelectric devices; tissue regeneration.

  • Tamm, Lukas K.

    Biomembrane Structure and Function; Cell Entry of Enveloped Viruses; Neurosecretion by Exocytosis; Structure of Bacterial Pathogen Membrane Proteins; Lipid-Protein Interactions

  • Taylor, Justin J

    B cell Analysis and Engineering

  • Vande Pol, Scott B.

    How Viruses, Particularly Papillomaviruses, Can Cause Cancer

  • Woodfolk, Judith A.

    The immune response to common cold and allergens in health and disease.

  • Xie, Jinghang

    Molecular Imaging; Cancer Immunology; Vaccines; Antibiotic Resistance.

  • Zeichner, Steven L.

    Pathogenesis of infectious diseases and the development of new therapies and vaccines for infectious diseases and cancers.

  • Zimmer, Jochen

    Transport of biopolymers across biological membranes with a particular interest in polysaccharide and protein translocation.

  • Zimring, James C

    Alloimmunity in Transfusion and Transplantation , Oxidant Stress Biology in Health and Disease