Host-Microbe Interactions Pillar
Fred Adler, PhD
Title: Professor - Mathematics
Mathematical modeling in virology, epidemiology and immunology, with a focus on linking across different scales of spatial and temporal organization.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: mathematical epidemiology, mathematical immunology, virology, theoretical biology
Email: adler@math.utah.edu
Krow Ampofo, MBCHB
Title: Professor - Pediatrics
My research focuses on the epidemiology and diagnosis of respiratory infections, and the use of metagenomic sequencing as a diagnostic and evaluation tool.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: respiratory viral infection, Influenza, epidemiology, diagnostics, antivirals
Email: Krow.Ampofo@hsc.utah.edu
Markus Babst, PhD
Title: Professor - Biology
My lab is interested in the regulation of nutrient transporters. Particularly, we focus on the post-translational regulation of transporters and study how this regulation is linked to the cell's metabolism.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: protein trafficking, metabolism, cell biology
Email: m.babst@utah.edu
Lou Barrows, PhD
Title: Professor - Pharmacology and Toxicology
My laboratory is dedicated to the discovery of new anti-cancer and anti-infective agents. Much of what we do can be considered natural products drug discovery. We identify new drug leads based on their novel chemical structure or mechanism of action. Extracts of macro- and microorganisms from coral reefs and tropical rain forests provide the new molecules we isolate and evaluate. Determination of the molecular actions of new molecules and determination of the precise cellular consequences of their activity is often the basis of student doctoral projects. We take bioactive organisms and molecules all the way from the source to the sequencing gel, and then into animal models of human disease.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: drug discovery, natural products, antimicrobial, antineoplastic
Brenda Bass, PhD
Title: Distinguished Professor - Biochemistry
The Bass laboratory is focused on understanding the biological functions of long double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) and dsRNA binding proteins. Viruses were once thought to be the sole source of long dsRNA, but the Bass laboratory has identified numerous long dsRNAs that naturally exist in animals, primarily focusing on C.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: dsRNA, Dicer, ADAR, antiviral
Email: bbass@biochem.utah.edu
Anne Blaschke, MD, PhD
Title: Professor - Pediatrics
Work in our laboratory is focused on better understanding the causes of invasive bacterial infections in children. We use new diagnostic technologies to better understand the pathogen-based epidemiology of infections such as pneumonia, meningitis
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: molecular diagnostics, pediatrics, pneumonia, Streptococcus
Email: Anne.Blaschke@hsc.utah.edu
Bill Brazelton, PhD
Title: Assistant Professor - Biology
A major research focus of the Brazelton lab is the study of bacteria and archaea who inhabit rock-hosted environments influenced by a process known as serpentinization. These environments host a set of extreme environmental conditions characterized by high concentrations of hydrogen gas, methane, and other simple organic compounds that are attractive food and energy sources for microbes. Serpentinization has been occurring on Earth ever since it became cool enough to have liquid water, and it is also expected to occur on other planets, such as Mars. Therefore, the lessons we learn by studying the weird archaea and bacteria associated with serpentinization are likely to help us understand the origin, distribution, and evolution of life in the solar system.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: bacteria, archaea, environmental microbiology
Email: william.brazelton@utah.edu
Jessica Brown, PhD
Title: Assistant Professor - Pathology
Our lab studies the pathogenesis of the fungus Cryptococcus
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: fungi, Cryptococcus, antimicrobials
Email: jessica.brown@path.utah.edu
Sarah Bush, PhD
Title: Associate Professor - Biology
My research focuses on the evolutionary consequences of interspecific interactions and the evolution of biodiversity. Specifically, I address these themes by investigating the co-evolutionary ecology of hosts and their parasites, primarily birds and ectoparasitic feather lice. My research involves experimental evolution, comparative research, and faunal surveys.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: Co-evolution, Ecology, Host-parasite interactions, biodiversity, biogeography, and systematics
Email: bush@biology.utah.edu
Demián Cazalla, PhD
Title: Associate Professor - Biochemistry
Our laboratory uses biochemistry and molecular biology to dissect the molecular functions of non-coding RNAs and their role in viral infections.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: herpesvirus, miRNA, non-coding RNA, gene expression
Email: dcazalla@biochem.utah.edu
Colin Dale, PhD
Title: Associate Professor - Biology
My research focuses on symbiotic relationships involving bacteria and animals, particularly insects. Many insects are known to harbor mutualistic bacterial symbionts that play important roles in host nutrition and defense. My research explores the nature of these symbiotic interactions using an integrative approach that employs genomic, transcriptomic, molecular genetic and molecular evolutionary analyses. We explore a range of topics including: (i) the causes and consequences of genome degeneration in bacterial symbionts, (ii) the molecular basis of interactions between insects and symbiotic bacteria, and (iii) the use of symbionts to express foreign gene in insects of medical and agricultural importance.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: microbiology and molecular evolution; insects and endosymbionts
Email: colin.dale@utah.edu
Darrell Davis, PhD
Title: Professor - Medicinal Chemistry
The discovery, validation, and development of small molecule inhibitors of viral translation. Specific viruses of interest include Zika, Dengue, Powassan, and HCV. We are particularly interested in how potential therapeutic molecules might affect mechanisms that differentiate viral from host translation.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: viral inhibition, translation, RNA, flavivirus, Zika, Dengue, Powassan, HCV
Email: darrell.davis@utah.edu
Denise Dearing, PhD
Title: Distinguished Professor - Biology
My research focuses on ecological factors and physiological constraints that influence foraging behavior and the evolution of diet breadth in mammalian herbivores.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: evolution, microbiome, plants, ecology
Email: dearing@bioscience.utah.edu
Nels Elde, PhD
Title: Associate Professor - Human Genetics
My research program investigates host-microbe interfaces and the evolutionary impact of these interactions on genomic and cellular complexity. Protein surfaces at these interfaces often evolve in a manner resembling molecular arms races, providing a conspicuous means to investigate mechanisms underlying the process of evolution.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: virus, pathogen-driven evolution, mimicry, experimental evolution
Email: nelde@genetics.utah.edu
Elena Enioutina, MD, PhD
Title: Research Assistant Professor - Pediatrics
Dr. Enioutina has
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: immunopharmacology, Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells (MDSCs), vaccination, chlamydia infections
Email: elena.enioutina@hsc.utah.edu
Keke Fairfax, PhD
Title: Assistant Professor - Pathology
IL-4 and immuno-modulation are hallmarks of parasitic infections, my laboratory broadly focuses on using the helminth parasite Schistosoma
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: Schistosomiasis, B cells, macrophages, maternal infection, pathogenesis, helminths
Email: keke.fairfax@path.utah.edu
Michael L. Free, PhD
Title: Professor - Metallurgical Engineering
Our research group focuses on improving metal extraction and purification, corrosion mitigation and recycling, and materials synthesis and evaluation for new technologies such as chemical sensors, all of which is designed to make our world better and our way of life more sustainable.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: metals, chemical processing, electrochemistry, sensors, corrosion
Email: michael.free@utah.edu
Hamid Ghandehari, PhD
Title: Professor - Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry
Research in our lab involves
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: drug delivery, nanotechnology
David Grainger, PhD
Title: Distinguished Professor - Biomedical Engineering
Our work seeks to improve the performance of implants in the body using local drug
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: medical device, drug delivery, inflammatory response, infection, local therapy
Email: David.Grainger@hsc.utah.edu
Scott Hale, PhD
Title: Assistant Professor - Pathology
My laboratory studies T cells and their role in the generation of immunological memory in response to infection and immunization. We are particularly interested in understanding the genetic and epigenetic programs that regulate the differentiation and maintenance of memory helper T cell subsets. We are currently investigating whether targeting epigenetic
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: helper T cells, immunological memory, viral immunology, DNA methylation, epigenetics
Email: scott.hale@path.utah.edu
Ming Hammond, PhD
Title: Associate Professor - Chemistry
The Hammond lab has a dual focus on engineering nucleic acids as programmable tools for molecular imaging and gene control, and on understanding the chemistry and biology of nucleotide-based signaling molecules in bacteria and mammalian cells.
We are one of the first labs to develop fluorescent biosensors made of RNA for live cell imaging of enzyme activity. These sensors are designed by combining a riboswitch domain, which is an RNA that changes conformation upon binding a small molecule ligand, and a fluorophore-binding domain. Ligand selectivity is dictated by the riboswitch domain and can even be reprogrammed with single nucleotide changes.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: biosensors, enzymes, cell imaging, RNA, riboswitch domain
Email: ming.hammond@utah.edu
Kimberly Hanson, MD
Title: Associate Professor - Internal Medicine (Infectious Disease)
My research is focused on the development and validation of novel diagnostic tests for infectious diseases.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: diagnostics, infectious disease
Email: kim.hanson@hsc.utah.edu
Adam Hersh, MD, PhD
Title: Associate Professor - Pediatrics
Clinical epidemiology, health services research focusing on improving the quality and safety of antimicrobial prescribing
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords:
Email: Adam.Hersh@hsc.utah.edu
Chris Hill, D. Phil
Title: Distinguished Professor - Biochemistry
We take structural and biochemical approaches to
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: HIV, virus-host interactions, protein structure, Cryo-EM, X-ray crystallography
Email: chris@biochem.utah.edu
Sheri Holmen, PhD
Title: Professor - Surgery
Dr. Holmen’s Lab aims to define critical targets in cancer cells that can become the focus for therapeutic intervention. Current efforts utilize a genetic approach to address this question in tumors that are generally refractory to conventional therapies, including metastatic melanoma and glioblastoma. Identified targets are being further validated using pharmacological inhibitors of clinical importance such that laboratory findings can be quickly translated to the clinic.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: glioma, melanoma, mouse models of cancer, virology, oncogenes, genes, tumor suppressor
Email: Sheri.Holmen@hci.utah.edu
Janet Iwasa, PhD
Title: Assistant Professor - Biochemistry
My group creates information-rich and visually compelling animations that capture current hypotheses on diverse molecular and cellular processes. These visualizations have broad applications in scientific research, communication, education
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: visualization, animation, outreach
Email: jiwasa@biochem.utah.edu
Richard Kanner, MD
Title: Professor - Internal Medicine (Pulmonary)
COPD, Health Effects of Air Pollution
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: COPD, PM2.5
Email: richard.kanner@hsc.utah.edu

Talia Karasov, PhD
Title: Biology
Our research focuses on the genetics of interactions between plants and their microbes. Using a combination of molecular and computational methods, we study the mechanisms by which microbes become pathogenic on plants and how microbial pathogens evolve to colonise host species with distinct immune systems
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: genomics, evolution, plant-microbe interactions, microbiome, immunity
Email: tkarasov@tuebingen.mpg.de
Michael Kay, MD, PhD
Title: Professor - Biochemistry
Our protein design and peptide chemistry lab
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: phage display, protein design, D-peptides, HIV, drug discovery, Shiga toxins
Email: kay@biochem.utah.edu
John Kriesel, MD
Title: Research Associate Professor - Internal Medicine (Infectious Disease)
Dr. Kriesel's primary interests here are in translational and clinical research. He discovered a major genetic contributor to human cold sores. His research projects involve strategies for the treatment of herpes simplex virus infections, and microbiologic triggers of autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis and sarcoidosis.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords:
Email: john.kriesel@hsc.utah.edu
Tracey Lamb, PhD
Title: Associate Professor - Pathology
We work on malaria, a disease caused by infection Plasmodium parasites that invade the body’s red blood cells and can cause a harmful systemic infection.
We are particularly interested in factors affecting the generation of a robust immune response to kill and remove the infection. We also work on determining the molecular mechanisms mediating vascular activation during malaria.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: malaria, Plasmodium, blood
Email: tracey.lamb@path.utah.edu
Molly Leecaster, PhD
Title: Research Associate Professor - Internal Medicine (Epidemiology)
My research focuses on understanding the associations between behavior and infectious disease dynamics. We use wireless sensor networks and electronic health records to collect data on person-to-person and person-to-environment contacts that have the potential to mediate transmission. We use dynamic models and simulations to estimate transmission parameters and test potential interventions to control
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: social and dynamic network analysis, Healthcare-associated infection, biostatistics
Email: Molly.Leecaster@utah.edu
Ellen Leffler, PhD
Title: Visiting Assistant Professor - Human Genetics
Our research focuses on evolutionary adaptation to infectious disease, especially malaria, in humans and other primates. We use bioinformatic and population genomic approaches to study the origin, evolution, and consequences of genetic variation that influences infectious disease susceptibility.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: malaria, evolution, genomics, primates
Email: leffler@genetics.utah.edu
Daniel Leung, MD
Title: Assistant Professor - Internal Medicine (Infectious Disease)
We study clinical, epidemiological, and immunological responses to intestinal infections, focusing on cholera and other pathogens of importance in resource-limited settings. We have a secondary focus on mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cell biology.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: Cholera, diarrhea, MAIT cells
Email: Daniel.Leung@utah.edu
Catherine Loc Carillo, PhD
Title: Research Assistant Professor - Internal Medicine (Epidemiology)
Our research is focused
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, bacteriophages, polymicrobial infections
Email: C.Loc.Carrillo@hsc.utah.edu
Ryan Looper, PhD
Title: Professor - Chemistry
Our lab uses chemical synthesis to probe the underlying mechanism of action of natural products. Through these efforts we develop leads for the treatment of various human diseases. A particular focus is the development of new antibiotic agents with novel mechanisms of action targeting multi-drug resistant Gram-(+) and Gram-(-) pathogens.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: antibiotics, translation, ribosome, natural products, medicinal chemistry
Email: r.looper@utah.edu
Elizabeth Middleton, MD
Title: Instructor - Internal Medicine (Pulmonary)
I work within the Weyrich, Zimmerman, Rondina lab. We are primarily a platelet and megakaryocyte lab with a focus on transcriptional and translational control. My work focuses on alterations in RNA and protein expression in both human and mouse models of sepsis and other inflammatory conditions.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: platelet, megakaryocyte, sepsis, CLP, translation, transcription
Matt Mulvey, PhD
Title: Professor - Pathology
The Mulvey lab is working to delineate both bacterial and host factors that control the ability of pathogens to colonize and persist within diverse host environments, with a major goal being the development of improved anti-bacterial therapeutics. This research utilizes genetics, microscopy, biochemistry, global gene expression analysis, and molecular biology techniques coupled with cell culture, mouse, and zebrafish infection model systems
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: bacterial pathogenesis, sepsis, urinary tract infections, gut colonization, virulence regulation, antibiotics
Email: mulvey@path.utah.edu
Richard Nelson, PhD
Title: Research Associate Professor - Internal Medicine (Epidemiology)
My research focuses on identifying the optimal use of scarce healthcare resources. In the realm of infectious diseases, I use the tools of health economics to inform decision making related to antibiotic prescribing and strategies to prevent transmission of multidrug-resistant organisms in the hospital.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: healthcare-associated infections, multidrug-resistant organisms, health economics, cost-effectiveness analysis
Email: Richard.Nelson@utah.edu
Shawn Owen, PhD
Title: Assistant Professor - Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry
My lab utilizes protein engineering and bioconjugation techniques in developing therapeutic and diagnostic platforms to enable precision medicine. Our current research focus is on 1) controlling the systemic and cellular pharmacokinetics (PK) of antibody-based therapeutics by creating self-amplifying antibody-drug conjugates, 2) evaluating the pharmaceutic stability of antibody-based therapeutics, and 3) engineering binary/ternary complementation-based diagnostic systems that utilize luminescent reporters for detection of important biomarkers.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates, therapeutics, diagnostics
Email: shawn.owen@hsc.utah.edu
Andrew Pavia, MD
Title: Professor - Pediatrics
Our group is interested in the epidemiology of diarrheal disease and predictive models, the epidemiology and diagnosis of respiratory infections, and the use of metagenomic sequencing as a diagnostic tool. We also have
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: influenza, diarrheal disease, epidemiology, diagnostics, antivirals
Email: Andy.Pavia@hsc.utah.edu
Vicente Planelles, PhD
Title: Professor - Pathology
The research in my lab seeks to understand various aspects of the pathogenesis by human immunodeficiency viruses. Specifically, we study (1) how HIV-1 establishes and maintains latency; how HIV-1 and related viruses evade immune responses via expression of the
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: HIV, lentiviruses, latency, accessory genes, SIV, interferon, SAMHD1,
Wayne Potts, PhD
Title: Professor - Biology
The lab has two different major projects: 1) We use experimental evolution of viruses to evaluate the role of host and pathogen genetic diversity on virulence evolution. 2) We use seminatural populations of mice to investigate the health consequences of any treatment, which to date have included a) resistance to infectious disease mediated by social status, b) dietary sugars, c) inbreeding, d) hox gene
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: immunogenetics, host-parasite coevolution, histocompatibility genes, virulence evolution, experimental evolution, virology
Email: wp2@utah.edu
Aaron Puri, PhD
Title: Assistant Professor - Chemistry
We are interested in how bacteria use small molecules to interact with each other and their environment. These molecules, known as natural products or secondary/specialized metabolites, form the basis of many compounds essential to medicine and agriculture. We use underexplored bacterial communities as new sources of natural products, and to provide biological context in order to activate the production and determine the biological function of these compounds.
Core research topics:
Bacterial interactions mediated by natural products (chemical ecology)
Isolation, structural elucidation, and biosynthesis of novel natural products
Bacterial genetics and regulation of biosynthetic gene clusters
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: bacterial pathogens, small molecules, natural products
Email: a.puri@utah.edu
June Round, PhD
Title: Associate Professor - Pathology
We work on understanding how commensal bacteria shape host immune system development and responses.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: microbiome, mucosal immunology, IBD
Email: june.round@path.utah.edu
Michael Rubin, MD, PhD
Title: Professor - Internal Medicine (Epidemiology)
I am primarily interested in health services research and implementation science encompassing the domains of medical informatics, clinical decision support, and computer simulation modeling, particularly as these relate to topics in infectious diseases and infection prevention. Relevant recent and ongoing projects include longitudinal epidemiologic analyses of multidrug-resistant organism infection rates, hospital-based interventions to reduce device-associated infections and antimicrobial prescribing, and the development of state-of-the-art computer simulation models to test novel healthcare-associated infection intervention strategies and to analyze their clinical and economic impacts.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: biomedical informatics, computer simulation, infectious diseases, infection prevention, healthcare-associated infections, antimicrobial stewardship
Email: michael.rubin@hsc.utah.edu
Phone: https://healthcare.utah.edu/fad/mddetail.php?physicianID=u0100398
Saveez Saffarian, PhD
Title: Associate Professor - Physics and Astronomy
We are an experimental Virology and Biophysics lab. Our lab has identified a relationship between HIV budding and protease activation and we are focused on the molecular mechanisms which ensure the release of fully infectious HIV virions. Our lab has also identified a mechanism for redistribution of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus polymerases along with its genome template. VSV is a prototype negative single-stranded RNA virus and shares many of its genetic mechanisms with more potent human pathogens including Ebola and Measles. While our lab is not directly focused on developing antivirals, we hope that our efforts will shed light on underlying mechanisms used by lentiviruses and negative-strand RNA viruses.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: viruses, imaging, HIV, microscopy
Email: saffarian@physics.utah.edu
Matthew Samore, MD
Title: Professor - Internal Medicine (Epidemiology)
My research advances the understanding of how antibiotic use has spread resistant pathogens; uncovers mechanisms of disease spread by healthcare-associated pathogens such as Clostridium
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: multidrug-resistant organisms, healthcare-associated infection, electronic health record, health information technology, prescribing practices, patient outcomes
Email: Matthew.Samore@hsc.utah.edu
Prashant Sarswat, PhD
Title: Research Associate Professor - Metallurgical Engineering
Prashant K
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: biosensors and devices, diabetes, electrochemistry, quantum dots, spectroscopy
Email: saraswatp@gmail.com
Robert Schlaberg, MD
Title: Assistant Professor - Pathology
My research is focused on developing unbiased pathogen detection approaches using shotgun metagenomics. We apply shotgun metagenomics for comprehensive pathogen detection, evaluating host-pathogen and pathogen-microbiota interactions, and developing host gene expression-based diagnostic strategies.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: metagenomics, syndromic testing, host response, respiratory infections
Eric Schmidt, PhD
Title: Professor - Medicinal Chemistry
We are experts in the chemistry of metabolism, including identifying known and previously unknown compounds from microbes and host animals. Our research includes the chemistry of secondary metabolites, NMR and mass spectrometry, metagenome sequencing and analysis, and biosynthesis (synthetic biology of natural products).
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: natural products, antimicrobials, spectrmetry
Email: ews1@utah.edu
Michael Shapiro, PhD
Title: Professor - Biology
Evolutionary genetics and developmental biology of natural and domesticated populations of vertebrates. We study how variation at the genomic level translates to developmental and phenotypic diversity in morphology and behavior.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: evolution, genetics, genomics, development, pigeon
Email: shapiro@biology.utah.edu
Paul Sigala, PhD
Title: Assistant Professor - Biochemistry
We use diverse biochemical and cellular tools to understand the metabolic adaptations that enable Plasmodium malaria parasites to survive and proliferate within human red blood cells. Our goals are to broaden fundamental knowledge of fascinating and divergent parasite biology and to identify new therapeutic opportunities to target this dangerous pathogen.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: malaria, metabolism, organelle biology, heme, parasites
Email: p.sigala@biochem.utah.edu
Adam Spivak, MD
Title: Assistant Professor - Internal Medicine (Infectious Disease)
My research focuses on HIV latency and persistence despite antiretroviral therapy. I am working to develop strategies to eradicate this viral reservoir. I am also working on novel clinical strategies to prevent the spread of HIV infection in our community.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: HIV, HIV latency, HIV persistence, pre-exposure prophylaxis
Email: adam.spivak@hsc.utah.edu
Zac Stephens, PhD
Title: Research Assistant Professor - Pathology
My research seeks to understand the ecological and immunological mechanisms involved in the assembly and maintenance of host-associated microbial communities. I am also interested in improvements to high-throughput sequencing and analysis techniques employed to increase our understanding of the many unknown microbial functions.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: microbiome, mucosal immunology, microbial ecology, host-microbe, metagenomics
Email: zac.stephens@path.utah.edu
Vanessa Stevens, PhD
Title: Research Assistant Professor - Internal Medicine (Epidemiology)
My work focuses on the prevention and treatment of antimicrobial-resistant infections in the healthcare environment and promoting
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: Clostridioides (Clostridium)
Email: vanessa.stevens@hsc.utah.edu
David Stillman, PhD
Title: Professor - Pathology
The central theme of our research is the regulation of gene expression, with the goal of understanding transcriptional regulation in eukaryotes at the molecular level.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: gene regulation, yeast, transcription
Email: david.stillman@path.utah.edu
Wes Sundquist, PhD
Title: Distinguished Professor - Biochemistry
We study the cellular, molecular and structural biology of retroviruses, particularly HIV, and the roles of the ESCRT pathway in cell division and the abscission checkpoint. Major projects in our lab include studies
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: HIV, innate immunity, ESCRT, TRIM5alpha, nanoparticles, protein design
Email: wes@biochem.utah.edu
Sankar Swaminathan, MD
Title: Professor - Internal Medicine (Infectious Disease)
We work on gene regulation by oncogenic herpesviruses EBV and KSHV. We study how
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: Epstein Barr Virus, KSHV, oncogenesis, innate immune response, epigenetic, post-transcriptional gene regulation
Mike Varner, MD
Title: Professor - Obstetrics/Gynecology
I have been facilitating clinical trials in women’s health – mainly obstetrics – for at the past 30 years.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: clinical trials, pregnancy, obstetrics and gynecology, women’s long-term health, fetal origins of disease
Email: michael.varner@hsc.utah.edu
Janis Weis, PhD
Title: Professor - Pathology
My laboratory studies the inflammatory pathways involved in the development of Lyme arthritis, a condition arising from infection with the
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: Lyme arthritis, Borrelia burgdorferi, genetics, inflammatory pathways
Email: janis.weis@path.utah.edu
Melodie Weller, PhD
Title: Assistant Professor - Dentistry
The Weller Lab studies viral profiles associated with the development and progression of Sjogren’s Syndrome and Sjogren’s Syndrome-associated Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. Our primary aims are to identify how viruses are able to contribute to autoimmunity and, most importantly, how patients are being exposed to these pathogens. We are also working on saliva-based diagnostics to detect exposure to pathogens associated with Sjogren’s syndrome and other chronic diseases.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: Sjogren's Syndrome, virus, infection
Email: Melodie.Weller@hsc.utah.edu
Dustin Williams, PhD
Title: Research Assistant Professor - Orthopaedics
Our research is focused on developing therapies that target bacterial biofilms, which are highly tolerant to traditional antibiotics and contribute to difficulties in treating chronic wounds, surgical sites, orthopedic prostheses, diabetic foot ulcers
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: biofilm, antimicrobial, infection, bone, heterotopic ossification, models
Email: dustin.williams@utah.edu
Matt Williams, PhD
Title: Associate Professor - Pathology
Our research group seeks to understand the fate decisions that control the differentiation of T cells responding to infections and tumors. We are particularly focused on unraveling the mechanisms underlying the formation of long-lived memory T cells.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: immunological memory, T cell differentiation, anti-tumor immunity
Jaclyn Winter, PhD
Title: Assistant Professor - Medicinal Chemistry
Research in my lab focuses on natural products isolation and the bioengineering of natural product pathways for drug discovery and development. We use fungi and bacteria as resources for the discovery of new therapeutic agents and produce new chemical entities for biological activity testing by characterizing and manipulating the mechanisms that nature uses for assembling small molecules.
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: natural products biosynthesis, drug discovery, microbial communication, antibiotics, bioengineering, combinatorial biosynthesis
Email: Jaclyn.Winter@utah.edu
Mark Yandall, PhD
Title: Professor - Human Genetics
The Yandell group develops computational algorithms and software tools to analyze
3i Bridge/Pillar: Host-Microbe Interactions
Keywords: genomics, data science, software
Email: myandell@genetics.utah.edu