Research Interests & Opportunities

Immunology Program faculty are internationally recognized for their research initiatives. The Program in Immunology is recognized as a strong discipline at Dartmouth and supported by an NIH Training Grant. The program was recently designated by DHMC, in a medical center-wide evaluation process, as one of four main foci for research and further development.

This strong interdepartmental program involves a wide variety of investigative interests and efforts (as listed in the table below).

Faculty associated with the Program in Immunology have a strong record of applying basic research findings to the treatment of human disease. The following faculty have immunologic research programs that are described briefly below.

Faculty Research Interests

Susana N. Asin, Research Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology; Ph.D., Cordoba, 1992.

  • Cytokine and chemokine regulation of HIV-1 infection and replication in the female reproductive tract and in peripheral blood cells; molecular interaction between HIV-1 and HSV-2.

Richard J. Barth, Jr., Associate Professor of Surgery; M.D., Harvard, 1985.

  • Tumor immunotherapy.

Brent L. Berwin, Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology; Ph.D., Wisconsin-Madison, 1999.

  • Immune regulation and antigen trafficking by molecular chaperones and scavenger receptors.

Constance E. Brinckerhoff, Professor of Medicine, and of Biochemistry; Ph.D., SUNY at Buffalo, 1968.

  • Cell and molecular biology of connective tissue degradation in rheumatoid arthritis and cancer.

Christopher M. Burns, Assistant Professor of Medicine; M.D., Albany Medical College, 1982.

  • Murine lupus; CD40-CD40L interactions in autoimmunity.

David J. Bzik, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology; Ph.D., Penn State, 1983.

  • Molecular basis of pathogenesis in Apicomplexa; drug targets in pyrimidine and purine metabolism.

Jose Conejo-Garcia M.D.-Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology and of Medicine; M.D., Zaragoza (Spain), 1990; Ph.D., Alcala (Spain), 1998.

  • Contribution of leukocytes to tumor vascularization and immunosuppression; tumor immunotherapy

Ruth I. Conner, Research Assistant Professor in Microbiology and Immunology; Ph.D., Ohio State, 1988.

  • HIV-1 mother-to-child transmission through breast-feeding; mechanisms of HIV-1 transmission in the neonatal gastrointestinal tract; inhibition of HIV-1 by lactic acid bacteria; innate antiviral immunity in human breast milk and the neonatal gastrointestinal mucosa; transmission of drug-resistant HIV-1 breast milk.

Ruth W. Craig, Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology; Ph.D., SUNY Roswell Park, 1984.

  • Molecular mechanisms involved in the induction of differentiation and apoptosis in myelomonocytic cells.

Mardi A. Crane-Godreau, Research Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology; Ph.D., Dartmouth College, 2004.

  • Influence of tobacco smoke exposure on changes in mucosal and innate immune function.

Joyce A. DeLeo, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, and of Pharmacology and Toxicology; Ph.D., Oklahoma, 1988.

  • Neuropharmacology; neuroimmunology; mechanisms leading to chronic pain with a focus on spinal neuroimmune responsesresponses using molecular, cellular, and in vivo pharmacological approaches.

Richard I. Enelow, M.D., Professor of Medicine and of Microbiology and Immunology, M.D., Boston, 1983.

  • Immunopathologic responses to respiratory virus infection.

Patricia A. Ernst, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Genetics; Ph.D., UCLA, 1997.

  • Hematopoiesis, lymphocyte development and leukemia; epigenetic gene regulation.

Marc S. Ernstoff, Professor of Medicine; M.D., NYU, 1978.

  • Tumor immunology of prostate cancer, melanoma, and renal-cell carcinoma.

Camilo E. Fadul, Associate Professor of Medicine; M.D., University del Rosario (Colombia), 1979.

  • Immunology and immunotherapy of tumors of the central nervous system.

Michael W. Fanger, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, and of Medicine; Ph.D., Yale, 1967.

  • Immunology and immunotherapy; tumor-associated antigens and targeted vaccines.

Roy A. Fava, Research Associate Professor of Medicine; Ph.D., Vermont, 1982.

  • Lymphotoxin-beta; ectopic lymphoid tissue; angiogenesis, TGF-β; VEGF; arthritis; inflammation; cytokines, Sjogren's Syndrome.

Steven N. Fiering, Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology; Ph.D., Stanford, 1990.

  • Chromatin-based regulation of the mammalian genome; transcriptional regulation of the β-globin locus; transgenic mice, novel treatments for ovarian cancer, tobacco smoke effects on the immune system.

James D. Gorham, Associate Professor of Pathology, and of Microbiology and Immunology; Ph.D., 1991, M.D., 1992, NYU.

  • Immunology of the liver; autoimmunity and tolerance.

William R. Green, Professor and Chair of Microbiology and Immunology, currently Dean, Dartmouth Medical School; Ph.D., Case Western Reserve, 1977.

  • Cell-mediated immunity, especially cytolytic T cell responses in, retrovirus-induced leukemia or immunodeficiency; viral escape mechanisms and pathogenesis; vaccine development for poxviruses.

Paul M. Guyre, Professor of Physiology; Ph.D., New Hampshire, 1979.

  • Mechanisms of steroid regulation of immunity and inflammation; human macrophage activation; dendritic cell antigen presentation; Fc receptors; sepsis; atherosclerosis; autoimmune disease.

William F. Hickey, Professor of Pathology; M.D., Vermont, 1977.

  • Development of inflammation in the nervous system; autoimmune diseases; immunology of the central nervous system.

Henry N. Higgs, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry; Ph.D., University of Washington, 1996.

  • Roles of lymphocyte microvilli and actin cytoskeleton in immune function and metastasis.

Alexandra L. Howell, Research Associate Professor of Medicine, and of Microbiology and Immunology; Ph.D., Texas Health Science Center, 1983.

  • Sex hormone regulation of HIV-1 infection in cells from the female reproductive tract; vaccine approaches for HIV-1.

Lloyd H. Kasper, Professor of Medicine, and of Microbiology and Immunology; M.D., Rush, 1975.

  • Autoimmunity, experimental inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis.

Peter M. Morganelli, Research Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology; Ph.D., Dartmouth, 1989.

  • Immune mechanisms in atherosclerosis; macrophage and lipoprotein metabolism; human IgG Fc receptors.

Randolph J. Noelle, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology; Ph.D., Albany Medical College, 1980.

  • B-lymphocyte activation; T-helper cell action; CD40 signaling, B cell memory and plasma development autoimmunity.

George A. O'Toole, Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology; Ph.D., Wisconsin-Madison, 1994

  • Biofilm formation by the bacterial pathogens Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus; biofilm formation in soil microbes; biofilm antibiotic resistance; role of biofilms on implant infections and disease.

William F.C. Rigby, Professor of Medicine, and of Microbiology and Immunology; M.D., Harvard, 1979.

  • Posttranscriptional regulation of cytokine and CD154 (CD40 ligand) gene expression; tristetraprolin function in mRNA turnover; polypyrimidine tract binding protein function; the effect of novel immunotherapeutics on the immune response in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Charles L. Sentman, Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology; Ph.D., University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 1990.

  • Natural killer (NK) cells; role of inhibitory receptors on NK cells and cytolytic T cells; innate Immunity; immunotherapy.

Karen A. Skorupski, Research Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology; Ph.D., Rutgers, 1988.

  • Transcriptional regulation of bacterial virulence gene expression; identification of new targets for antimicrobial design.

Ronald K. Taylor, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology; Ph.D., Maryland, 1984.

  • Bacterial pathogenesis; colonization mechanisms; virulence gene regulation; vaccine and antimicrobial design.

Mary Jo Turk, Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology; Ph.D., Purdue, 2001.

  • Mechanisms of concomitant tumor immunity.

Edward J. Usherwood, Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology; Ph.D. Cambridge. 1995.

  • Interaction between murine gammaherpesvirus 68 and the immune system.

Matthew P. Vincenti,Research Assistant Professor of Medicine; Ph.D., SUNY Health Science Center at Syracuse, 1992.

  • Inflammatory signal transduction and the regulation of matrix metalloproteinase gene expression in arthritis and cancer.

C. Fordham von Reyn, Professor of Medicine, and of Infectious Diseases; M.D., Harvard, 1971.

  • Vaccines for HIV-associated tuberculosis, mycobacterial skin testing; AIDS; non-tuberculous mycobacteria.

Hillary D. White, Research Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology; Ph.D., California, Santa Barbara, 1979.

  • Mucosal and tumor immunology in the human and murine female reproductive tract; regulation of reproductive cytotoxic T lymphocytes; sex steroid and stress hormones.

Charles R. Wira, Professor of Physiology; Ph.D., Dartmouth, 1970.

  • Role of sex hormones in the regulation of innate and adaptive immunity in the human and rodent female reproductive tract.

Mark P. Yeager, Professor of Anesthesiology, and of Medicine; M.D., McGill, 1974.

  • Glucocorticoid control of the human systemic inflammatory response. Non-linear modelling of systemic sepsis in humans.