Blake Billmyre
Human fungal pathogens cause more than 1.5 million deaths annually. In particular, Cryptococcus species are responsible for life threatening meningitis and kill nearly 200,000 people a year. There are only three classes of effective antifungal drugs available to treat Cryptococcus and developing new drugs is difficult because many potential antifungal […]
Gregory Phillips
Education & Background Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, B.A.(1979) Biological Sciences Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, M.A. (1981) Microbiology University of Georgia, Athens, GA , Ph.D. (1987) Genetics Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, Postdoctoral Fellow (1990) Molecular Biology College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, Assistant Professor (1993) Biology Iowa State […]
Melinda Brindley
Dr. Melinda Brindley is a molecular virologist, with expertise in positive and negative sense RNA viruses. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Iowa studying how Ebola virus and equine infectious anemia virus enters host cells. As a postdoc at Emory University, she characterized how the measles virus glycoprotein […]
Karen A. Norris
Karen Norris, PhD, received her doctorate in biomedical sciences and microbiology from Wright State University School of Medicine and completed post-doctoral training at The Scripps Research Institute. Dr. Norris was appointed as Assistant Professor in Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry at the University of Pittsburgh, then joined the newly formed Department […]
Jamie Barber
Jamie Barber received an undergraduate degree from a small liberal arts honors college in Maryland and began his professional career at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine’s Oncology Center in the Bone Marrow Transplant Research Unit. After completing a masters degree in Environmental Science with a focus on Toxicology, […]
Mary Hondalus
Dr. Hondalus is a graduate from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State University, and following graduation, she was an equine and small animal private practitioner. She subsequently completed a Large Animal Internal Medicine Residency at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine and a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology […]
Eric R. Lafontaine
One component of my research program consists of identifying and characterizing surface antigens expressed by pathogenic bacteria including Burkholderia pseudomallei and Burkholderia mallei. Given their cellular location at the host-pathogen interface, surface antigens play key roles in bacterial virulence. We believe that studying their biological functions will shed light on […]
Frederick D. Quinn
Frederick D. Quinn, Ph.D., is Athletic Association Professor of Infectious Diseases, Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Interim Director of the Center for Vaccines and Immunology in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia. Dr. Quinn oversaw several laboratory groups at the Centers for Disease […]
Ralph A. Tripp
Dr. Ralph Tripp is a Professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases in the College of Veterinary Medicine and is a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Vaccine and Therapeutics. Dr. Tripp was trained in the field of viral immunity with Laureate Professor Peter C. Doherty and led a research […]
Robert Jeffrey Hogan
Dr. Hogan began his 30 year scientific career studying host-pathogen interactions during his graduate studies, which focused on immune responses to viral infection in teleosts. After receiving his doctoral degree, he joined the laboratory of Dr. David Woodland at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where his research focused on cell-mediated […]
Vincent Starai
Department of Microbiology profile
Ankita Garg
Dr. Garg received Ph.D. in Medical Microbiology from Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Science, India, followed by postdoctoral training from the University of Texas Health Science Center and the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Garg also spent a few years in the R&D divisions of pharmaceutical companies where […]
Tuhina Gupta
Dr. Tuhina Gupta is an immunologist and a bacteriologist, with expertise in mycobacterial diseases. She joined the University of Georgia in 2007 and works with Dr. Frederick Quinn on multiple projects. Her research focuses on developing animal models of mycobacterial pathology, meningitis, latency, and transmission, testing novel methods for TB […]
Russell Karls
Dr. Karls is a Senior Research Scientist in the Infectious Diseases Department at the University of Georgia. He received undergraduate degrees in Biochemistry and Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He earned his doctorate in Bacteriology from UW-Madison applying biochemistry and molecular genetics to study transcriptional control of bacterial photosynthesis. […]
Susan Sanchez
Dr. Susan Sanchez is a tenured Department of Infectious Diseases professor and the University of Georgia Curriculum Committee Chair. She has received numerous microbiology, research, mentoring, and teaching awards. Her former students occupy prominent science positions nationally and internationally. Dr. Sanchez is a member of the Council of Councils at […]
M. Stephen Trent
Understanding the bacterial cell envelope provides valuable insights for two crucial areas: the discovery of new antibiotics and the understanding of microbe-host interactions. The cell envelope serves as a prime target for antibiotic development, as its unique components and processes can be exploited to disrupt bacterial growth and survival. By […]
Carmen Herrera
Throughout my professional career, my main research goal has been to contribute significantly in the field of microbial sciences concentrating on the study of pathogenic bacteria. The Trent Lab is interested in uncovering the molecular mechanisms required for assembly and maintenance of membranes in Gram-negative bacteria. Working as member of […]
Ashutosh Pathak
I am interested in determining how parasite fitness is shaped by interactions with host(s) and environment. Questions that motivate my research include: 1) How do biotic and abiotic factors regulate dynamics of parasite populations within and between hosts? 2) To what extent do parasites and their hosts vary naturally in […]
Hemant Naikare
I am a board certified diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists with twenty years of experience in the field of diagnostic microbiology: classical and conventional methodologies to detect diseases of livestock, companion animals, zoonotic diseases, food safety, antimicrobial resistance and public health. Currently, I am a tenured Professor […]
Jarrod J. Mousa
Jarrod Mousa received his PhD from the University of Florida where he studied the structure and mechanism of multidrug transporters in pathogenic bacteria. He then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Vanderbilt University in the Vaccine Center where he studied the human antibody response to respiratory syncytial virus. Dr. Mousa joined […]
Balazs Rada
My laboratory studies mechanisms of respiratory innate immunity supporting immune responses to pathogens or underlying pathogeneses of lung diseases. The first major project focuses on cystic fibrosis lung disease and studies host-pathogen interactions between neutrophils and respiratory pathogens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Mycobacterium abscessus. The second main project investigates […]
