Infection & Immunity

Models to Medicine Center

Improving the health of people and domestic animals

The infection and immunity research cluster carries out research aimed at improving the health of people and domestic animals, and welcomes interest from potential industry partners.

Focus The immune system is a complex hierarchy of responses to agents in the environment, collectively called non-self. These agents include viruses, bacteria, protozoan parasites, parasitic worms, ectoparasites, fungi, transformed mutant cells, and vaccines modeled on these.

Researchers The cluster is comprised of 18 research laboratories. Seven of these laboratories study immune regulation and dysregulation in health and disease, while 11 study the physiology, biochemistry and molecular biology of pathogens and related organisms.

Immunity Cluster Researchers in the immunity cluster develop and use models of diseases of people and domestic animals including autoimmune disease (aplastic anemia and multiple sclerosis), malignant disease and infectious diseases. They perform studies in ruminants, genetically engineered mouse strains and cell lines using pathogens that include Trypanosoma spp., Theileria spp., Leptospira spp., Borrelia spp., Brucella spp., Mycobacteria spp., and Chlamydia spp.

Pathogen Cluster Researchers in the pathogen cluster study diverse aspects of microbial biology including protein folding, DNA replication, mechanisms of quorum sensing and chemotaxis, production of and response to antimicrobial agents, identification of virulence factors as well as pathways that lead to symbiosis, and novel biochemical pathways that may serve as drug targets. Pathogens under investigation include Staphylococcus spp, Listeria spp, Helicobacter spp, Bacillus spp, Mycobacteria spp, and Chlamydia spp.

Technology Researchers in both clusters use the tools of the modern life scientist including immunochemistry, flow cytometry, cell imaging, live animal imaging, mouse, cell line, and pathogen genetic engineering, biochemistry and molecular biology procedures including next generation sequencing, mass spectrometry and NMR.

Contact Information
Leonid Pobezinsky, Veterinary and Animal Sciences

The host responds within itself
To ever present pestilence
Their PAMPs, its DAMPs, engage/ignite
A protective squad of leukocytes, which promptly mediate defense
Unless, through stress, their sense of self becomes confused with something else
And lymphocytes, the grand defenders, turn on self as their agenda

Fact Sheet

We seek to understand and direct innate and adaptive immune responses to prevent or alleviate disease in people and animals.

M2M Research Theme

Antimicrobials and Drug Resistance

Many pathogenic microbes have developed resistance to current antibiotics with devastating societal, economic and human health impacts. Microbial drug resistance significantly increases the length of hospitalization, complicates the treatment of other conditions, may require the use of more toxic alternative treatments and can leave no therapeutic options.

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M2M Research Theme

Microbial Interactions and Pathogenesis

Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus and other human pathogens including Listeria monocytogenes secrete virulence factors that help to downregulate human innate immunity thus increasing the probability of infection.

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M2M Research Theme

Modulation of T cell Signaling and Effector

Individuals in societies that are served by excellent public health and effective use of childhood vaccines are still at risk of autoimmune diseases, malignancies, inflammatory pathology associated with ingestion/inhalation of toxic substances, traumatic injury and organ failure. At least some of these conditions could be alleviated by targeted regulation of signaling pathways that control responses of effector and regulatory T cells.

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M2M Research Theme

Vaccine Development

Zoonotic infectious diseases impact human health and curtail food production nationally and internationally. The vaccine research focus aims to lower the threat to humans from animal infectious reservoirs and increase food production by developing novel vaccination strategies for animals, and by generating tools that increase the resolution of their immune responses.

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