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Faculty and Research

Research Areas

The faculty members of the Department conduct research in various areas of Microbiology and Immunology.

Bacteriology

The study of bacterial pathogens at the Department focuses primarily on host pathogenesis in different host tissues. Both gram-positive and gram-negative organisms are studied and characterization of virulence determinants, their immune responses in the host, targets for antimicrobial and therapeutic agents, and vaccine development, represents ongoing research efforts. Bioinformatics and genomic analyses of bacterial genomes are conducted by members of the Department in association with the New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences.

Images provided by Dr. Anders Hakansson

 

Eukaryote pathogens (Parasitology/Mycology)

Parasitology research in the department focuses on multiple aspects of posttranscriptional gene expression in Trypanosoma brucei including RNA editing, RNA turnover, protein arginine methylation, ribosome assembly, and ATPase complex assembly and function. In addition to the parasitology studies, studies of the adaptation of the pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans to the host environment through post-transcriptional gene regulation are ongoing.

Images provided by Dr. Laurie Read and Dr. John Panepinto

Immunology

Members of the Department are engaged in studies of host immune response to microbial infection, mucosal immunology, as well as mucosal vaccine adjuvants, and vaccine development. The Department also has a strong focus on tumor immunology and a close relationship with faculty members at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

Image provided by Dr. Richard Bankert

Virology

A wide variety of viruses are studied in the Department. The research focuses on basic molecular mechanisms of DNA and RNA replication and processing, nucleic acid-protein interactions and gene regulation as well as characterization of virulence determinants and therapeutic agent discovery.

Image provided by Dr. William Ruyechen