NIH Post-Doctoral Infectious Diseases Training Program
Program Goals
This program, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Disease, is designed to provide research training needed to address
current gaps in understanding how microbial pathogens emerge from animal
reservoirs and are transmitted to humans and to develop improved methods
of control. | |
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Antigen Presentation
(click on image for larger view) |
The landmark Institute of Medicine report, "Emerging Infections:
Microbial Threats to Health in the United States" highlighted the importance of
studying infectious diseases in natural animal hosts - 60% of all human
pathogens are directly transmitted from or emergent from animal reservoirs.
Understanding the behavior of pathogens in their natural hosts, including
mechanisms of persistence, evolution of virulence, acquisition and maintenance
of antimicrobial resistance, and genetic change underlying transmission
phenotypes, is now widely recognized as critically important to addressing
emerging infections. The broad spectrum of microbial pathogens, from small RNA
viruses to multicellular parasites, which infect domestic and wild animals,
provides a rich opportunity to understand pathogen behavior in their natural
hosts both as models for human disease as well as for directly understanding
pathogen evolution and transmission to humans.
Trainees
The program has two types of trainees: (i) clinically-trained
veterinarians, usually with residency training in clinical
microbiology, internal medicine, or pathology; and (ii) post-PhD
fellows who expand and enhance their research capabilities in
infectious diseases. Critically, both groups of trainees are
integrated in the laboratory research training phase with shared
trainee led research-in-progress seminars, shared trainee led
outside speaker seminars, and in the responsible conduct of research
progression. This integration significantly enhances the training
environment as each type of trainee brings unique strengths.
Training Faculty
The training faculty is interdisciplinary with 11 investigators
in the Department of
Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, the
Paul G. Allen Center for Global Animal Health, and the
School of Molecular Biosciences. Investigators are
internationally recognized for their research in infectious diseases
and provide contemporary training in well-funded research
laboratories.
Guy H. Palmer,
DVM, PhD. Regents Professor of Pathology and Infectious Diseases and
Creighton Chair of Global Animal Health. Program Director. Research
Emphasis: Bacterial antigenic variation and strain superinfection;
Microbial immunity and vaccine development.
Publications
Wendy Brown, MPH,
PhD. Regents Professor of Immunology. Program Co-director. Research
Emphasis: Control of microbial infection by CD4+ T lymphocytes;
bacterial secretion systems as targets of protective immunity. Publications
John Alderete, PhD. Professor of Microbiology. Research Emphasis:
Interactions of eukaryotic parasites with the host cell and mucosal immune
system.
Publications (PubMed search under Alderete JF)
Troy Bankhead, PhD. Assistant Professor of Microbiology. Research Emphasis:
Recombination mechanisms and antigenic variation of the Lyme Disease bacterium,
Borrelia burgdorferi.
Publications (PubMed search under Bankhead T)
Tom Besser, DVM, PhD. Professor of Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology.
Research Emphasis: Transmission of enteric pathogens, including E. coli and non-typhoidal
Salmonella; epidemiology of antibiotic resistance.
Publications (PubMed search under Besser TE)
Kelly A. Brayton, PhD. Associate
Professor of Molecular Biology. Research Emphasis: Mechanisms of antigenic
variation; microbial genomics.
Publications
Shira Broschat, PhD. Professor of Computer Science and Adjunct in
Microbiology. Research Emphasis: Current research is focused on rough surface
scattering and molecular modeling of pathogen behavior in biofilms, modeling of
maintenance and spread of antibiotic resistance via horizontal gene transfer,
and bacterial source tracking using microarrays and re-sequencing approaches.
Publications: (PubMed search under Broschat SL)
Douglas R. Call, PhD. Associate
Professor of Microbial Epidemiology and Corline Engle Faculty Fellow. Research
Emphasis: Genetic basis for enteric pathogen virulence, antibiotic resistance,
and transmission.
Publications
Michael Konkel, PhD. Professor of Microbiology. Research Emphasis: Enteric
pathogen interactions with the host, especially Campylobacter pathogenesis.
Publications: (PubMed search under Konkel ME)
Audrey Lau, MPH, PhD. Assistant Professor of Parasitology. Research Emphasis:
Apicomplexan parasite virulence and host-parasite interactions.
Publications: (PubMed search under Lau AO)
Robert Mealey, DVM, PhD. Associate Professor of Immunology. Research
Emphasis: Immune control of lentiviral infections.
Publications: (PubMed search under Mealey RH)
Additional Faculty
Tim Baszler, DVM, PhD Professor of Pathology and Infectious Diseases;
William Davis, PhD Professor of Immunology;
Michael Kahn, PhD Professor of Microbiology;
Don Knowles, DVM, PhD Professor of Pathology and Infectious Diseases;
Kevin Lahmers, DVM, PhD Assistant Professor of Pathology and Immunology;
Nancy Magnuson, PhD Professor of Immunology;
Terry McElwain, DVM, PhD, Professor of Pathology and Infectious Diseases;
David Prieur, DVM, PhD, Professor of Pathology;
Ray Reeves, PhD Professor of Biochemistry; Glen Scoles, PhD Research
Entomologist and Adjunct Professor.
To Apply
Please contact the Program Director, Guy Palmer or Co-Director, Wendy Brown
for information about current and future open positions. You may also contact
any of the specific faculty members for more information about their specific
research programs. Note: NIH restricts appointment to citizens and permanent
residents.
Guy H. Palmer, DVM, PhD
Regents Professor and Director, Infectious Diseases and Microbial Immunology
Training Program
402 Bustad Hall Washington State University
Pullman WA 99164-7040
Tel: 509-335-6033; FAX: 509-335-8529
gpalmer@vetmed.wsu.edu
Wendy C. Brown, MPH, PhD
Regents Professor and Co-Director, Infectious Diseases and Microbial Immunology
Training Program
402 Bustad Hall Washington State University
Pullman WA 99164-7040
Tel: 509-335-6067; FAX: 509-335-8529
wbrown@vetmed.wsu.edu
