Infectious Diseases

All research at Upstate—basic, translational, and clinical—is broadly grouped in four areas of concentration: Disorders of the Nervous System; Diabetes, Metabolic Disorders, and Cardiovascular Diseases; Cancer; Infectious Diseases.

Our infectious disease program focuses on three areas:

• Host-pathogen interactions
• Global health and emerging pathogens
• Animal model development and stem cell research

Our mission is to share our expertise and resources worldwide to conduct research and develop products to promote global health. This is happening an at NIH-funded clinic in Kenya, where children with Burkitt's lymphoma are treated.

On campus, Upstate's Humanized SCID Mouse Center and Stem Cell Processing Laboratory (Departmental Core Facility) is a unique facility created to foster interdisciplinary scholarship and research using the "humanized" immunodeficient mouse. The Center was recently awarded funding for significant expansion, which includes the study of leukemia induced by human viruses.

* indicates College of Graduate Studies faculty.

• David Amberg, PhD*
  Professor
  Regulation of actin dynamics and analysis of genomic influences on actin function.
• Joseph Domachowske, MD*
  Professor
  Pneumovirus pathogenesis.
• Timothy Endy, MD, MPH*
  Professor
  Understanding the epidemiology and pathogenesis of viral hemorrhagic and encephalitic arboviruses and host-vector interactions.
  
• Gerold Feuer, PhD
  Associate Professor
  HTLV pathogenesis and Tax function; Humanized SCID mouse models of hematopoiesis; lentivirus vectors; KSHV/HHV-8 infection and pathogenesis; SCID-hu immune responses against HIV envelope
  
• Jerrie Gavalchin, PhD*
  Professor
  Regulation of pathogenic antibody production in autoimmune glomerulonephritis; Cell-surface receptors for retroviruses
  
• Sandra Hayes, PhD*
  Assistant Professor
  

  Roles of B lymphoid kinase (Blk) in lymphocyte development and activation as well as in preventing autoimmunity

• Ziwei Huang, PhD*
  Professor and Chair
  Discovery and mechanism of action of new pharmacological agents for cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration, infectious disease, and stem cell-based regenerative medicine.
  
• Bihchen Hwang, DDS, PhD*
  Professor
  DNA replication of herpes viruses.
  
• Burk Jubelt, MD*
  Professor
  

  CNS acute and chronic polio- and entero-virus infections; Growth factors for Post-Polio Syndrome; Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis; Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Motor Neuron Gene Expression

• William Kerr, PhD*
  Professor
  Transplant immunology and stem cell biology.
  
• Dilip Kittur, MD, ScD, FACS*
  Professor
  Xenotransplantation, Endothelial cell dysfunction, Use of herbal products in transplant biology
• Stewart Loh, PhD*
  Professor
  

  Protein engineering, design, and folding

• Paul Massa, PhD*
  Professor
  

  Regulation of innate immune responses to viruses.

• Jennifer Moffat, PhD*
  Associate Professor
  Varicella zoster pathogenesis.
• Andras Perl, MD, PhD*
  Professor
  

  Genes and Viruses Predisposing to Autoimmunity, Genetics, Apoptosis, Endogenous Retroviruses, Transaldolase

• Dawn Post, PhD*
  Assistant Professor
  

  Cancer treatments. My lab is currently investigating two different cancer therapy approaches: (1) oncolytic viruses and (2) inhibitors of the EGFR/Her pathway.

• Michael Princiotta, PhD*
  Assistant Professor
  Antigen processing and presentation; Cytotoxic T lymphocyte response to viral and bacterial infections
• Rosemary Rochford, PhD*
  Vice President for Research
  Etiology of viral-associated malignancies, gammaherpesvirus pathogenesis.
• Edward Shillitoe, PhD*
  Professor
  

  Gene therapy for cancer; Bacterial causes of obesity, diabetes and periodontal disease
  

• Allen Silverstone, PhD*
  Professor
  How dioxins and estrogens and estrogenic compounds affect the immune system.
• Steven Taffet, PhD*
  Professor
  Regulation of intercellular communication in the heart, gene expression during macrophage activation
• Gary Winslow, PhD*
  Professor
  

  Host defense against intracellular pathogens, B cell responses, immunological memory