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Microbiology, Pathogenesis & Host-Microbe Interactions (M2P2) Faculty

Alix Ashare, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Medicine, and Microbiology and Immunology

Office:  Borwell 508E

Phone:  603-650-5533

My research focuses on the role of lung macrophages in the development and persistence of inflammation in the lung. A major focus of my laboratory is the investigation of potential mechanisms underlying regional heterogeneity of lung inflammation in patients with inflammatory lung diseases, with an emphasis on the investigation of differences in alveolar macrophage function in patients with cystic fibrosis and asthma. Our work involves primary human immune cells isolated from patients with cystic fibrosis and asthma, as well as healthy volunteers and chronic smokers. Currently, my laboratory is particularly interested in how the lung environment impacts resident and recruited macrophage phenotype and function and how these changes in the immune cell may contribute to the non-resolving inflammation seen in patients with CF. In addition to our work in inflammatory lung diseases such as CF, we are investigating the relationship between impaired lipid homeostasis in lung macrophages and viral immunity in individuals who use electronic cigarettes.

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James B. Bliska, Ph.D.

Distinguished Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

Office: 524A Remsen

Phone: 
650-1674

My long-term research focus is to understand how bacterial toxins interact with the immune system to trigger pathogenesis or host protection. At Dartmouth, I will expand my research to investigate opportunistic bacterial pathogens that produce toxins and cause mucosal infections, such as those that occur in the lungs of Cystic Fibrosis patients. I will also be using synthetic immunology to develop novel therapeutics to combat opportunistic mucosal pathogens.

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David J. Bzik, Ph.D.

Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

Office: 654E Borwell

Phone: 603-650-7951


We are interested in understanding how the obligate intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii manipulates the mammalian host cell to ensure it's successful replication and triggering of host responses required for development and transmission. Our interests are the biological intersections of host-parasite interaction, pathogenesis, and immunity, while our goals are the development new drug therapies and vaccines against infectious diseases and cancer.

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Ambrose Cheung, M.D.

 

Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

Office:  210A Vail

Phone:  603-650-1340

Our major research interests are regulation of virulence gene in Staphylococcus aureus, a major human pathogen both in the community and in hospital settings.

 

Robert A. Cramer, Ph.D.

Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

Office: 213 Remsen

Phone: 603-650-1040


Our research group investigates the molecular mechanisms through which the human fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus causes disease in diverse patient populations. We utilize molecular genetics, genomics, biochemistry, microscopy, immunology, and animal model approaches to develop, explore, and test our clinically relevant questions and hypotheses regarding these too often lethal infections.
 Our long-term goal is to translate results from these studies into novel therapeutic advances.

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William R. Green, Ph.D.

Elmer R. Pfefferkorn Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

Office: 603W Borwell

Phone: 603-650-8607


Our research focuses on the T-cell immune responses to retroviruses.


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Mary Lou Guerinot, Ph.D.

Ronald and Deborah Harris Professor in the Sciences, Professor of Biological Sciences, and Molecular and Systems Biology

Office: 325 Life Sciences Center

Phone: 603-646-2527


My principal expertise and research interests are in the area of metal transport and regulation of gene expression by metals. Plants are the major point of entry for essential metals into the food chain, so our work is laying the foundation for crops that offer sustainable solutions for malnutrition.


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Paul M. Guyre, Ph.D.

Active Emeritus Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

Office: 646W Borwell

Phone: 603-650-7924 


Dr. Guyre's principal research interests  to date have been: (i) Cancer immunotherapy; (ii) understanding the regulation and function of IgG Fc receptors on phagocytes, and (iii) how hormones and cytokines regulate the functional activity of white blood cells including monocytes, macrophages, dendritic cells, and neutrophils. The Guyre lab team is currently focused on finding biomarkers for the neuroimmune related disease, myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and the tick-induced mammalian meat allergy Alpha Gal Syndrome. Vastly underdiagnosed, IgE anti-alpha gal (a sugar found on all mammals except humans) can induce life threatening anaphylaxis to not only meals of beef and pork, but to medications contained in gelatin capsules.

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Anne G. Hoen, Ph.D., M.Phil.

Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, Biomedical Data Science, and Microbiology and Immunology

Office: 888 Rubin

Phone: 603-653-6087


Our work is on the development of the microbiome in infants and children, and the associations between environmental and dietary exposures, the microbiome, and risk for infectious diseases and other health outcomes.


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Deborah A. Hogan, Ph.D.

Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

Office: 208 Vail

Phone: 603-650-1252


We study the mechanisms by which bacterial and fungal pathogens regulate virulence determinants within multicellular populations, within microbial communities and in the context of mammalian hosts.


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F. Jon Kull, Ph.D.

Rodgers Professor of Chemistry, and Biochemistry and Cell Biology

Dean, Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Sciences

Office: 304 Burke

Phone: 603-646-1552 


Our laboratory uses biophysical techniques to study protein structure and function. Our goal is to understand at a fundamental level the conformational changes that occur in proteins as they complete the various cellular functions. 


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Jiwon Lee, Ph.D.

Ralph and Marjorie Crump Assistant Professor of Engineering

Thayer School of Engineering

Office:  751 Williamson Translational Research Building

Phone:  603-646-3485

The Lee Lab studies the dynamics of antibody repertoires in infectious disease, autoimmune disease, and cancer using high-throughput sequencing of B cell transcripts and high-resolution mass spectrometry. The repertoire of antibody molecules circulating in blood or coating mucosal surfaces is the basis for protective immunity, and we employ machine learning frameworks, big data analytics tools, proteomic analytical methods, and data modeling to gain clinically relevant insights regarding protective mechanisms at unprecedented details. Leveraging this knowledge, we aim to design next-generation therapeutics and vaccines precisely tailored to maximize effectiveness in the context of particular diseases and/or patients (i.e.personalized/precision medicine).

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David A. Leib, Ph.D.

Professor and Chair of Microbiology and Immunology

Office: 630E Borwell

Phone: 603-650-8616


We study the molecular pathogenesis of herpes simplex virus (HSV). In particular, we are interested in ways that viruses evade both innate and adaptive immune responses.
We also study maternal immunity to HSV infections and how it shapes the pathogenesis of neonatal HSV – a rare yet devastating manifestation of HSV infection.

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Jennifer J. Loros, Ph.D.

Professor of Biochemistry, and Molecular and Systems Biology

Office: 704 Remsen

Phone: 603-646-5247

Our laboratories are interested in the genetic and molecular dissection of circadian systems in eukaryotic cells with a research emphasis on the fungus Neurospora and mammalian tissue culture. The circadian system comprises the core molecular feedback loop, how this loop feeds information to the cell and organism and how input to the loop via temperature changes and photoreceptors is regulated.


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Dean R. Madden, Ph.D.

Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology

Dartmouth Vice Provost for Research

Office: 408A Vail

Phone: 603-646-5197

Structure and function of ion channels and proteins that regulate their intracellular trafficking.


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Aaron McKenna, Ph.D.

Aaron McKenna, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology

Office:  Williamson Translational Building, Room 658

Phone:  603-650-1866

My lab is interested in how cells grow and divide to form complex structures, such as the transformation from the zygote to an adult human or from a transformed cell into a tumor mass. To study these processes, we develop technologies to trace pattern of cell divisions which recovers the lineage of each cell. This information can be combined with other measures of cell state such as single-cell transcriptomic data to develop a rich picture of how choices are made in development and how this process is dysregulated in diseases such as cancer.

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Larry C. Myers, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Medical Education, and Biochemistry and Cell Biology

Office: Vail 412

Phone: 603-650-1198


The goal of our lab is to determine how genetic and epigenetic information in eukaryotic cells is used to regulate the transcription of genes. We are particularly interested in how human fungal pathogens utilize epigenetic regulatory strategies to switch phenotypes and facilitate virulence.


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Carey D. Nadell, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences

Office: 326 Life Sciences Center

Phone: 603-646-1019


Bacteria often live in groups, called biofilms, where they cooperate and compete using a broad spectrum of interactive behaviors. These interactions are central to how bacteria evolve, and how they cause disease. We use molecular genetics, confocal microscopy, computational simulations, and evolutionary analysis to understand the mechanisms and biofilm-scale consequences of bacterial cell-cell interaction.


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Randolph J. Noelle, Ph.D.

Thomas S. Kosasa Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

Office: 702 Rubin

Phone: 603-653-9908


We study mediators that control the development of adaptive immunity. Our current focus is on the role of retinoic acid in controlling immunity, elements of the immune microenvironment that control allograft tolerance and tumor immunity, and new members of the PD-L family that govern how monocytes regulate T cell responses.


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Josh Obar, Ph.D MCB'06

Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

Office: 650W Borwell

Phone: 603-650-6858


Research in the Obar lab investigates the mechanisms by which inflammatory leukocytes are recruited to the lungs during infections. Specifically, we are interested in viral infections, such as influenza A virus, and fungal infection, such as Aspergillus fumigatus. 


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George A. O'Toole, Ph.D.

Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

Office: 202 Remsen

Phone: 603-650-1248


My lab studies the molecular basis of biofilm formation on living and non-living surfaces, including the role of biofilms in disease. We also study host-pathogen interactions, and recently we have begun to explore the microbial communities associated with chronic lung infections, including cystic fibrosis.


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Pamela Rosato, Ph.D., MCB'15

Pamela Rosato, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Microbiology and Immunology

Office:  732 Rubin Building

Phone:

Our research focuses on understanding the function and regulation of virus-specific resident memory T cells (TRM). Using mouse and human tissue explant models, we seek to develop a foundational understanding of TRMbiology in distinct tissues to be able to contextualize the role of TRMin pathologic and protective settings. Our current focuses are on the functions of anti-viral TRMin the brain, repurposing virus-specific TRMas a brain tumor immunotherapy, and investigating the role of TRMwithin tumors during oncolytic viral therapy.

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Benjamin D. Ross, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

Office:  504A Vail Building

Phone:

The bacteria resident in the human gastrointestinal tract (the gut microbiota) potently influence diverse aspects of human health, including immunity. However, the forces that govern the composition of the gut microbiota are poorly understood. Our work focuses on a mechanistic, ecological, and evolutionary understanding of how interbacterial interactions between members of the dominant Gram-negative bacteria in the gut, the Bacteroidales, modulate the composition of the microbiota. The Bacteroidales utilize a contact-dependent toxin-delivery system known as the type VI secretion system (T6SS) to kill neighboring cells. We study the impact of this pathway on the microbiota and how bacteria adapt to defend against T6SS-mediated antagonism, using a combination of bacterial genetics, biochemistry, metagenomics, and germ-free mouse models. We are also interested in understanding why Bacteroidales abundance is depleted in individuals with cystic fibrosis, with the goal of improving health through restoration of these bacteria.

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Rahul Sarpeshkar, Ph.D.

Thomas E Kurtz Professor, Professor of Engineering, Microbiology and Immunology, Physics, Molecular and Systems Biology

Office: 507A Vail

Phone: 603-646-6821


Synthetic analog and digital biological circuits in electri-cigenic and other microbes; Applications of synthetic and systems biology to immunology, infectious disease, and cancer; Precision measurement, electronic circuit modeling, and feedback control of living cells at the fundamental limits set by physics.

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Daniel Schultz, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

Office: 206 Vail

Phone: 603-650-1644


The Schultz lab develops quantitative approaches to study the emergence, operation and optimization of the gene networks that control cell responses in bacteria, with a focus on antibiotic resistance mechanisms. We combine mathematical modeling, bioinformatics, experimental evolution and microfluidics to analyze how the cell controls the expression of resistance genes during drug responses. We strive to guide innovation in clinical therapies by uncovering the selective pressures that shape the evolution of antibiotic resistance in natural environments.

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Charles L. Sentman, Ph.D.

Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Director for Synthetic Immunity

Office: 640W Borwell

Phone: 603-650-8007

My laboratory is interested in innate immunity and how it regulates adaptive immunity in response to cancer and infectious disease. We focus our work on NK cells and CD8 T cells, and we are using innate immune receptors as a means to develop therapeutics for cancer.


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Elizabeth F. Smith, Ph.D.

Paul M. Danten Jr Professor

Professor of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth Dean of Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Dean of Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Office: 226 Life Sciences Center

Phone: 603-646-1129


The proper assembly and regulated function of eukaryotic cilia is critical for development and sustained human health. We use a variety of biochemical, molecular, and genetic techniques to elucidate the signal transduction pathways that regulate motor proteins responsible for ciliary beating.


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Bruce Stanton, Ph.D.

Andrew C. Vail Memorial Professor

Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, and of Physiology

Office: 615 Remsen

Phone: 603-650-1775


Our laboratory studies the genetic disease Cystic Fibrosis. In particular we study host pathogen interactions between bacteria and human airway epithelial cells and the interactome of CFTR and how interacting proteins regulate CFTR trafficking. We also examine how environmental toxins, in particular arsenic, cause and contribute to respiratory and diseases and inflammation.


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Surachai Supattapone, M.D., Ph.D., D.Phil.

Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, and Medicine

Office: 311 Vail

Phone: 603-646-5212

Our lab investigates the molecular mechanisms responsible for the propagation of protein misfolding in neurodegenerative diseases, with special focus on infectious mammalian prions.  We also use whole genome CRISPR libraries to study various areas of cell biology in mammalian cells.

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Edward J. Usherwood, Ph.D.

Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

Office: 608E Borwell

Phone: 603-650-7730


Research in the Usherwood lab focuses on T cell-mediated immune surveillance to virus infections and cancer. We are interested in factors that regulate T cell memory and immune surveillance. A major goal is to exploit these findings to develop novel immunotherapies for cancer and persistent virus infections.

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Michael Whitfield, Ph.D.

Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology

Chair, Biomedical Data Science

Office: 705A Remsen

Phone: 603-650-1105 


The complexities of biological systems can now be studied with genome-wide approaches that take a global view of the underlaying biology.

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