Immunology
Faculty Expertise and Research Areas

Mary Brown

  • Studies how mycoplasmas cause respiratory and urogenital infections in animals and humans.
  • Develops diagnostic tools and models for emerging mycoplasmal diseases in reptiles and livestock.
  • Investigates links between mycoplasmas and reproductive or urinary tract health in women.

John W. Bostick

  • Advancing research at the intersection of engineering and immunology to elucidate gut–brain interactions, immune responses in neurodegenerative and inflammatory diseases, and to develop novel therapeutic strategies.

Roy Curtiss 

  • Develops recombinant attenuated Salmonella vaccines (RASVs) for oral, needle-free immunization.
  • Studies bacterial pathogenicity and designs safe, effective live vaccines using genetic engineering.
  • Innovates vaccine delivery and containment strategies to target infectious diseases and cancer.

Aria Eshraghi

  • Investigating the mechanisms by which bacteria use virulence factors to evade immune detection and cause disease.

Danmeng Li

  • Studies HLA structure-function relationships in the context of autoimmune disease.
  • Uses crystallography to analyze immune-related proteins.
  • Contributes structural data to the Protein Data Bank.

Clayton Mathews

  • Studies immune regulation and beta cell dysfunction in type 1 diabetes.
  • Investigates early disease markers using proteomics and transcriptomics.
  • Develops immunotherapies to delay or prevent diabetes progression.

Ayalew Mergia

  • Exploring host–virus interactions to inform therapeutic and vaccine development.

Julie M. Moore

  •  Using human studies, in vitro cell culture models, and mouse models to study malaria pathogenesis in pregnancy and deepen understanding of placental biology in health and disease.

Cuong Nguyen

  • Studies the causes and progression of Sjögren’s syndrome to improve diagnostics and therapies.
  • Develops antibody-based treatments for Zika and Dengue using single-cell technology.
  • Creates rapid diagnostic tools for detecting oxalate in kidney stone disease.

Banikalyan Swain

  • Develops novel vaccines and immunotherapies for aquatic animal pathogens.
  • Investigates host-pathogen interactions and immune signaling in fish.
  • Focuses on improving aquaculture health through molecular immunology.

Shifeng Wang

  • Develops recombinant attenuated Salmonella vaccines (RASVs) for infectious diseases.
  • Focuses on Salmonella, Streptococcus pneumonia, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and influenza.
  • Aims to enhance vaccine efficacy for human, veterinary, and poultry health.

Liang Zhou

  • Examining transcriptional and metabolic regulation of tissue immune responses in health and disease.

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