Immunology Research

CEIDR scientists have strong research efforts on the response of the immune system to bacterial, parasitic and viral pathogens. Topics of research interest in this area include evasion of the immune response and persistence, molecular mechanisms underlying inflammatory responses and vaccine development for a variety of important pathogens. Specific research programs include: vaccine design for Brucella Abortus, West Nile Virus, Dengue Virus, Herpes viruses and Bovine Coronavirus and Herpesvirus Type-1. The lymphocyte-mediated response to Bartonella and nematode infection, the analysis of the innate and adaptive immune response to respiratory syncytial virus and human metapneumovirus infections, as well as the study of the innate immune/inflammatory response in the lung to Klebsiella infection are also investigated. A particular area of research interest focuses on respiratory disease immunopathogenesis.

Research areas under investigation include:

1. The role of pattern recognition receptors (TLRs and NLRs) and their adaptors on the development of the innate immune response in the lung in murine models.
2. The molecular and cellular mechanisms responsible for neutrophil recruitment, priming, and activation in infected lungs, smoke-exposed lungs, and smoke-exposed lungs and organs followed by infection and other organs/tissues.

Viral and bacterial pathogens that are studied include: Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Legionella pneumophila, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the respiratory syncytial virus and human metapneumonvirus, as causative pathogens of pneumonia. Supporting facilities for immunology research in the Department include the Flow Cytometry Facility, the Histology Laboratory, the Light Microscopy Center, the Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine, Biosafety Level-3 (BSL-3) suites. Additional research support is provided through the Division of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine (BIOMMED) that administers core laboratories providing research support for molecular biology and next generation sequencing (NGS)(GeneLab), whole animal in vivo Imaging, protein production, purification and characterization and molecular immunopathology. These core laboratories are supported by the NIH:NIGMS COBRE mechanism (P20GM103458).

Faculty:

1. Vladimir Chouljenko, PhD Research Assistant Professor (LSU-SVM)
2. Shafiqul Chowdhury, DVM, PhD Professor (LSU-SVM)
3. Elizabeth S. Didier, PhD Professor of Tropical Medicine at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (SPHTM)
4. Maria Antonieta Guerrero-Plata, PhD Assistant Professor (LSU-SVM)
5. Muzammel Haque, PhD Research Assistant Professor (LSU-SVM)
6. John Hawke, PhD Professor (LSU-SVM)
7. Samithamby Jeyaseelan, DVM, PhD Professor (LSU-SVM)
8. Deepak Kaushal, PhD Associate Professor (TNPRC)
9. Konstantin G. Kousoulas, PhD Professor (LSU-SVM)
10. Marcelo Kuroda, MD, PhD Chair of the Division of Immunology at the TNPRC and an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Tulane University Medical School
11. Andrew A. Lackner, DVM, PhD DACVP Director of TNPRC
12. Andrew MacLean, PhD Assistant Professor (TNPRC)
13. Nicholas J. Maness, PhD Research Assistant Professor (TNPRC)
14. Preston A. Marx, PhD Professor of Tropical Medicine at Tulane University SPHTM, Core Scientist and Chair of the Division of Microbiology at TNPRC
15. Mahesh Mohan, DVM, MS, PhD Assistant Professor (TNPRC)
16. Bapi Pahar, DVM, PhD Research Assistant Professor (TNPRC)
17. Yogesh Saini, PhD Assistant Professor (LSU-SVM)
18. Ronald L. Thune, PhD Professor (LSU-SVM)
19. Vicki L. Traina-Dorge, PhD Research Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Tulane University School of Medicine and a Core Scientist in the Division of Microbiology at the TNPRC
20. Ronald S. Veazey, DVM, PhD Professor in the Department of Pathology at the Tulane University School of Medicine and Chair of the Division of Comparative Pathology at the Tulane National Primate Research Center
21. Xiaolei Wang, PhD Assistant Professor (TNPRC)