Research
As a basic science department in a medical school, faculty undertake both basic and
translational research. Our investigators have support from the National Institutes
of Health, other federal agencies, the State of Louisiana and from industry. Details
of our research interests can be found under the individual investigator links.
Immunology/Infectious Diseases/Cancer
Pamela Kozlowski, PhD
HIV-1 and SARS CoV-2 vaccine development, functions of antiviral IgA antibodies, mucosal
immunity to HIV-1 and SARS CoV-2.
Alison Quayle, PhD
How Chlamydia trachomatis evades immune recognition and establishes long-term infections, modulation of genital
immunity by the vaginal microbiota, and evaluation of novel preventative strategies
for STIs and HIV.
Alistair Ramsay, PhD
Host: pathogen interactions in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, SARS-CoV-2 and other intracellular pulmonary infections. Vaccine development strategies
against M. tuberculosis and other intracellular pathogens.
Guoshun Wang, DVM, PhD
Neutrophil biology in infection and inflammation, innate immune defect of cystic fibrosis,
and gene- and stem cell-based therapy for diseases.
Arnold Zea, PhD
T cell dysfunction in patients with tuberculosis and cancer and underlying regulatory
mechanisms.
Krzysztof Reiss, PhD (Joint Faculty)
DNA repair and mutagenesis in medulloblastoma, molecular pathways in neurological
cancer.
Bacterial Pathogenesis
Li Shen, MD, PhD
Molecular biology and pathogenesis of Chlamydia; global gene regulatory mechanisms.
Christopher Taylor, PhD
Bioinformatics and Computational Biology for analysis of high-throughput sequencing
data to characterize the human microbiome and interactions with sexually transmitted
infections.
Jessica Rivera, MD, PhD (Joint Faculty)
Bacterial pathogenesis; biofilms and orthotics.
Zezhang (Tom) Wen, PhD (Joint Faculty)
Molecular characterization of oral biofilms and regulation of Streptococcus mutans pathogenicity.
Eukaryotic Pathogens
Ben Kelly, PhD
Molecular mechanisms underlying parasite viability and virulence in leishmaniasis
and Chagas’ disease; identifying drug targets in Leishmania species and Trypanosoma cruzi.
Ping Wang, PhD
The mucormycosis causal agent Rhizopus delemar is recalcitrant to genetic research. We are attempting to understand its pathogenesis
by developing various genetic and genomic approaches.
Hong Xin, MD, PhD
Development of novel synthetic vaccines and immunotherapeutics for invasive fungal
infections. Protective mechanisms of monoclonal antibodies and vaccine induced immunity
in high-risk immunocompromised populations.
Molecular Virology/ Viral Pathogenesis/Cancer
Jennifer Cameron, PhD
DNA tumor virus pathogenesis; Virus-host interactions; Viral co-infections and impact
on human health; Development of diagnostic and prograstic cancer screening tests.
Timothy Foster, PhD
Virus-host interactions: Mechanisms of herpes virus subversion of host intrinsic anti-pathogen
responses.
Michael Hagensee, MD, PhD (Joint Faculty)
Immunology and structure of human papillomaviruses.
Francesca Peruzzi, PhD (Joint Faculty)
Molecular mechanisms of neurobiological dysfunction caused by HIV-1, the role of microRNAs
in tumor growth.
West, John T., PhD (Joint Faculty)
Retroviral and herpetic infection, immune dysregulation, neoplastic growth. Viral
evolution, vaccine design, regulation of RNA processing and translation, and viral
pathogenesis. Focus on the immunobiology of KSHV and Kaposi’s Sarcoma.
Wood, C., PhD (Joint Faculty)
HIV and Kaposi’s sarcoma associated human herpesvirus KSHV. Major focus on transmission
of KSHV in Zambia and the development of this work as a model for research infrastructure
growth and collaborative studies between the US and Zambia.