Karen 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 of Immunology at Pitt in 2002.  In 2016, Dr. Norris was named Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Translational Medicine and Immunology and became a member of the University of Georgia Center for Vaccines and Immunology.  Dr. Norris is a Professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases in the College of Veterinary Medicine.  Dr. Norris conducts research in immunology and infectious diseases with emphasis on vaccine development,  co-morbidities and opportunistic infections associated with HIV infection, chronic immune activation and aging.  She has developed a team of investigators and collaborators who provide expertise in all aspects of these studies including veterinary, pulmonary, cardiology, pathology, immunology, radiology, virology and immunology. This team has been successful in establishing the first non-human primate models of Pneumocystis pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pulmonary arterial hypertension.  Current studies are underway to test the efficacy of Pneumocystis vaccine in pre-clinical models and develop therapeutic interventions to treat inflammation-mediated diseases including diabetes, pulmonary hypertension, RSV and COPD.