Diseases We Study

Acanthamoeba

Acanthamoeba is a microscopic, free-living amoeba that can cause rare, but severe infections of the eye, skin, and central nervous system.

Acute Kidney Injury

Acute kidney injury is a sudden decrease in kidney function with or without kidney damage. Its most severe stage requires dialysis treatment.

ALI & ARDS

Acute Lung Injury (ALI) and Acute Respiratory Distress syndrome (ARDS) describe syndromes of acute respiratory failure through a variety of etiologies.

African Trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness)

Human African trypanosomiasis, or “sleeping sickness”, is a parasitic disease of humans and other animals. Untreated, the disease is fatal.

Babesiosis

Babesiosis is caused by microscopic parasites that infect red blood cells. This disease is found throughout the world and, while treatable, it can be life threatening if left untreated.

Balamuthia

Balamuthia mandrillaris is a free-living amoeba found in the environment throughout the world. While rare, it can cause a serious infection of the brain and spinal cord that is usually fatal.

Besnoitiosis

Besnoitiosis is caused by infection with protozoan Besnoitia spp., which are cyst-forming coccidian parasites that affect multiple host species worldwide.

Blood-Brain Barrier Dysfunction

Blood-Brain Barrier Dysfunction refers generally to the loss of structural integrity and normal function of the blood-brain barrier.

Chagas disease

Chagas disease, or “American trypanosomiasis”, is a tropical parasitic disease caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi.

Chlamydial infection

Chlamydial infection is a common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in humans caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis.

Cholera

Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by ingestion of contaminated food or water. Transmission is closely linked to inadequate access to clean water and sanitation facilities.

Cryptosporidiosis

Cryptosporidiosis, also known as “Crypto”, is a parasitic disease caused by Cryptosporidium, a microscopic protozoan parasite.

Cystoisosporiasis

Cystoisosporiasis is an intestinal disease of humans caused by the coccidian parasite Cystoisospora belli.

Enteritis

Enteritis refers to inflammation of the small intestine caused by the ingestion of substances contaminated with pathogens.

Giardiasis

Giardiasis is a diarrheal illness caused by Giardia, a microscopic parasite found on surfaces or in soil, food or water.

Gonorrhea

Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by infection with the Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacterium.

Hepatitis C Virus

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is a serious disease that can cause long-term health problems, even death.

Herpes simplex virus

Herpes simplex virus 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2), are two members of the herpes virus family, Herpesviridae, that infect humans.

HIV

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a lentivirus (slowly replicating retrovirus) that weakens the immune system.

Immunomodulatory therapy

Immunomodulatory therapy targets immune pathways to treat disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a term for two conditions (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis) that are characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.

Influenza

Influenza, also known as the flu, is a contagious viral infection that attacks the respiratory system – Influenza A is the most serious and prone to widespread outbreaks and disease. 

Innate immunity

Innate immunity is the first and most ancient line of defense against pathogens.

Legionnaires' disease

Legionnaires' disease, or Legionellosis, is caused by exposure to a bacterium that is found in water and soil. It ranges in severity from a mild influenza-like illness to a serious and sometimes fatal form of pneumonia.

Leishmaniasis

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by protozoan parasites and is transmitted by the bite of a certain species of sand fly.

Leprosy & non-tuberculous mycobacteria

Leprosy (also known as Hansen’s disease) is an infection caused by slow-growing bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae. Non-tuberculous mycobacteria are organisms found in soil and water that can infect the airways and lung tissue.

Malaria

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by the parasite Plasmodium.

Merkel cell carcinoma & merkel cell polyomavirus

Merkel cell carcinoma is a very rare and aggressive skin cancer typically caused by the Merkel cell polyomavirus.

Mycoplasma genitalium

Mycoplasma genitalium is a bacterial infection that causes several sexually transmitted infections (STIs), such as urethritis in men and cervicitis in women.

Naegleria fowleri

Naegleria fowleri (commonly referred to as the “brain-eating amoeba”) is a free-living microscopic amoeba.

Neosporosis

Neosporosis is a disease caused by Neospora caninum, a microscopic protozoan parasite with worldwide distribution.

Newcastle disease

Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is a neurotropic paramyxovirus closely related to measles virus and canine distemper virus.

Phagocyte Biology

Phagocyte biology is the study of phagocytic cells that can protect against bacteria and harmful foreign particles.

Plasmodium / Malaria

Plasmodium malariae is a human malaria parasite species that, if untreated, can cause a long-lasting chronic infection.

Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer, cancer that starts in the prostate, is the second most common cancer in American men behind skin cancer.

Pseudomonas

Pseudomonas infection is caused by strains of bacteria found widely in the environment; the most common type causing infections in humans is called Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Regulatory Biomarker Qualification

Qualification of a biomarker means that within a stated context of use (COU), the biomarker has been demonstrated to reliably support a specified manner of interpretation and application in drug development.

Salmonellosis

Salmonellosis is an infection caused by consumption of foods containing Salmonella bacteria.

Sepsis

Sepsis is the body’s extreme response to an infection; it is a life-threatening medical emergency.

Shigellosis

Shigellosis is an infectious disease caused by a group of bacteria called Shigella.

Smallpox & other Orthopoxviruses

Smallpox is an infectious disease caused by the Variola virus, genus Orthopoxvirus. Other members of this genus that cause infection in humans are vaccinia virus, monkeypox virus, and cowpox virus.

Staphylococcus & Streptococcus

Staphylococcus and Streptococcus are genera of Gram-positive bacteria.

T Cell Epitope Discovery

The identification of novel T cell antigens is central to basic and translational research in autoimmunity, tumor immunology, transplant immunology, and vaccine design for infectious disease.

T Cell Receptor Biology

T-cell receptors (TCRs) initiate the cellular immune response by responding to foreign antigens presented on the surface of antigen-presenting cells.

Theileria Parva

Theileria parva is a highly pathogenic tick-borne intracellular protozoan parasite of cattle.

Toxoplasmosis

Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii.

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is a common infectious bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Typhoid Fever

Typhoid is a common disease transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Salmonella enterica.

Varicella Zoster Virus

The varicella zoster virus (VZV) is a herpesvirus belonging to the subfamily of Alphaherpesviridae.

Vascular Leak

Vascular leak syndrome (VLS) is a serious side effect of immunotherapy that can cause interstitial edema and organ failure.

Viral infections

Viral infections are caused by viruses, tiny germs made of genetic material inside a protein coating.

West Nile Virus

West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne zoonotic arbovirus that can cause a fatal neurological disease in humans.

Zika Virus

Zika virus disease is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes, which bite during the day.