Basic Sciences Research in Infectious Diseases
The focus of our research is to understand how pathogens cause disease, why our immune responses are sometimes inadequate to control or eradicate infections, and to develop novel therapeutics and vaccines.
Development of vaccines against viral pathogens
HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV) are devastating chronic viral infections that infect 2.7 and 3 million people each year, respectively. Dr. Jerry Blackwell and Dr. David Garber are using two different platforms to develop an HIV vaccine. Dr. Blackwell develops adenovirus-based vaccines while Dr. Garber uses poxvirus-based vaccines, both with the strategy of using attenuated viruses that cannot themselves cause disease, to present HIV proteins to our immune systems and stimulate a protective immune response.
Dr. Arash Grakoui's research focuses on how our immune system combats HCV, with a focus on augmenting the natural immune response to HCV to prevent the liver disease and cancer caused by this virus. Dr. Hank Radziewicz bridges these two areas of research, focusing on patients co-infected with HIV and HCV and how these infections lead to T cell dysfunction.
Working with others at Emory, Dr. Blackwell is studying a newly identified virus called XMRV may cause prostate cancer. Ongoing research in this area will hopefully lead to a vaccine and or new therapeutics for prostate cancer.
Control of Malaria
Malaria infects 350-500 million people globally. Our efforts to combat malaria include gaining a better understanding of the ways in which the Plasmodium parasite manipulates our immune system to cause disease (Dr. Mary Galinski). In addition, Dr. Alberto Moreno has developed novel models of malaria infection to study the disease and is developing a malaria vaccine by fusing recombinant Plasmodium proteins to autologous T cell epitopes.
Working to limit the burden of bacterial disease
Our research on bacterial pathogens include those that cause the greatest burden in the United States and in the developing world. Our division director, Dr. David Stephens, focuses on the mechanisms of pathogenesis of Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae. This fits well with the interests of several other members of the division including Dr. Sarah Satola whose research focuses on the molecular epidemiology of these pathogens. Dr. Yih-Ling Tzeng (link) studies two-component systems of Neisseria meningitidis, as well as the way in which this pathogen produces its capsule which is essential for virulence. Dr. Dorothea Zahner and Dr. Scott Chancey study antibiotic resistance mechanisms of Streptococcus pneumoniae, a major cause of pneumoniae worldwide.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is responsible for the most infections of any bacterial pathogen and Dr. Jyothi Rengarajan studies genes that contribute to its pathogenesis and how it evades the innate immune response. Similarly, Dr. David Weiss (link) studies genes responsible for the ability of Francisella tularensis, a potential bioweapon, to evade innate immune responses including the signaling of Toll-like Receptors (TLRs). This fits well with the research of Dr. Susu Zughaier (link) who studies the ways in which TLRs recognize bacterial pathogens with the hopes of manipulating this interaction for vaccine development.
Dr. Timothy Read uses comparative genomics to identify drug, vaccine and diagnostic targets in bacterial pathogens including biodefense threats. Dr. Read also runs the Emory - Georgia Research Alliance Genome Center.