PRIMARY FACULTY

Raul Andino, PhD
Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology
“Replication of RNA Viruses and Vaccine Development”
Dr. Andino studies several processes of the replication cycle of RNA viruses, including the mechanism of RNA replication, expression, and RNA packaging. His lab has also developed a method of adapting positive-stranded RNA as a vaccine vector to express antigenic determinants derived from diverse pathogens.
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J. Michael Bishop,MD
Chancellor
Professor, Departments of Microbiology & Immunology, Biochemistry and Biophysics

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Philip Coffino, PhD
Professor, Departments of Microbiology & Immunology, Medicine
“Proteasomes, Substrate Recognition and Processing”
Dr. Coffino is interested in how the proteasome, the major neutral protease of the cytoplasmic and nuclear compartments of eukaryotic cells, recognizes and degrades protein substrates.
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Jeffery Cox, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology
“Host-Pathogen Interactions Responsible for M. tuberculosis Virulence”
Dr. Cox is interested in understanding the molecular details of the relationship between host and pathogen that are responsible for tuberculosis (TB), the leading cause of death worldwide due to infectious disease. To begin to ask questions about TB pathogenesis, he has taken a molecular genetic approach to identify virulence genes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of TB.

Jason Cyster, PhD
Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
“Molecular Regulation of Cell Migration and Survival in Lymphoid Tissues”
Dr. Cyster is focused on defining the molecular cues that guide leukocyte migration in secondary lymphoid organs, and on determining how cell position influences cell fate. These investigations have implications for understanding how immune function and self-tolerance are maintained in healthy individuals, and how these processes break down in states of autoimmunity or hematopoietic malignancy.
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Anthony L. DeFranco, PhD
Professor and Chair, Departments of Microbiology & Immunology, Biochemistry
“Regulation of B Lymphocyte and Macrophage Function by Cell Surface Receptors”
Dr. DeFranco studies the regulation of B lymphocyte and macrophage function by cell surface receptors. He is interested in how cell surface receptors communicate with the interior of the cell and how those communications regulate cellular behavior. In particular, he is studying the mechanism of signaling by a class of related receptors used by the immune system to detect and destroy invading microorganisms.
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Donald Ganem, MD
Professor, Depts. of Microbiology & Immunology, Medicine, HHMI
“Biology and Replication of Human Viral Pathogens”
Dr. Ganem is exploring the molecular mechanisms of the replication of human viral pathogens and the biology and pathogenesis of their resulting diseases. Current projects focus on Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and its causative herpesvirus, KSHV.
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Carol Gross, PhD
Professor and Vice Chair, Depts. of Microbiology & Immunology, Cell & Tissue Biology
“Regulation of Gene Expression”
Dr. Gross works on the regulation of the E. coli stress response, protein interactions in the bacterial transcription apparatus, and genomic analysis of gene expression using E. coli microarrays.
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Alexander (Sandy) Johnson, PhD
Professor and Vice Chair, Depts. of Microbiology & Immunology, Biochemistry & Biophysics
“Control of Gene Expression”
Dr. Johnson studies several basic problems in transcriptional regulation using the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. His laboratory also studies several features of the human opportunistic pathogen Candida albicans and the relationships of these features to its virulence.
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Nigel Killeen, DPhil
Associate Professor, Deptartment of Microbiology & Immunology,
“The Determination of T-cell Fate”
Dr. Killeen's general interest is in T lymphocyte (T cell) development and immunity. This includes, but is not limited to, an emphasis on understanding the developmental significance of interactions that occur at the T cell surface.
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Lewis Lanier, PhD
Professor and Vice Chair, Depts. of Microbiology & Immunology, Cancer Research Institute
“Regulation of T-cell and NK-cell Immune Responses by Activating and Inhibitory Receptors”
Dr. Lanier has focused on membrane receptors on T cells and NK cells that recognize classical and non-classical major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigens. A major focus of the Lanier lab is to determine the ligand specificity of these receptors, their signal transduction pathways, and their physiological relevance in immune responses against tumors and pathogens.
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Joachim Li, MD, PhD
Associate Professor, Deptartment of Microbiology & Immunology
“Regulation of Eukaryotic DNA Replication”
Dr. Li is interested in understanding the control of eukaryotic DNA replication during the cell cycle and the genetic consequences of disrupting that control. He is studying this problem in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
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Limim Liu, PhD
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Microbiology & Immunology, Sandler Ctr. for Basic Research in Asthma
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Frank McCormick, PhD
Director, Cancer Center Institute
Professor, Depts of Microbiology & Immunology, Cellular & Molecular Pharmacology, Biochemistry & Biophysics
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Michael McManus, PhD
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Microbiology & Immunology, Diabetes Center
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Anita Sil, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology
“Fungal Pathogenesis and Host Response”
Dr. Sil studies the human pathogen Histoplasma capsulatum, delving into the cell biology of both the microbe and the relevant host cells. The goal of her research is to use functional genomics and genetics to generate a molecular understanding of how cell-cell interaction, signal transduction, gene regulation, and other fundamental biological processes influence pathogenesis.
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Matthias Wabl, PhD
Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology
“Somatic Cell Genetics of the B Lymphocyte”
Dr. Wabl studies the immunoglobulin class switch—the phenomenon that a humoral immune response starts out with IgM, to be followed by IgG, IgA and IgE; and the hypermutation at the gene segments encoding the variable part of an immunoglobulin molecule.
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