Department of Microbiology and Immunology

The Department remained stable as faculty and staff continued to contribute to the research and educational programs of the Department. Primary faculty continue to interact closely with the Center for Predictive Medicine and Emerging Infectious Diseases, the Institute for Cellular Therapeutics, the Brown Cancer Center and the Center for Genetics and Molecular Medicine. The interdisciplinary nature of the programs of the Department is reflected by the diversity of our secondary faculty, who hold primary appointments in Biology (Arts and Sciences), Dentistry (periodontal disease), and School of Medicine Departments of Medicine, phthalmology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pathology, Pediatrics, and Surgery.

 The research programs of the Department continued to flourish, with emphases on inflammation, autoimmunity, transplantation immunology, cancer and infectious disease. Expansion of the Department’s research and education programs in microbiology and virology continued with ongoing recruitment of new faculty in collaboration with the Center for Predictive Medicine and Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Our graduate Ph.D. program remains strong, respected, and internationally diverse. Of the 42 students in our program in 2011, 27 were from the U.S.A., of whom 4 were African-American, 4 from India, 4 from China, 3 from Turkey, and 1 each from Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Syria. In 2011, 9 students received their Ph.D. degree. We are proud of the successes of our graduate students during the year. Meg McIntosh, M.D., Ph.D. student in the lab of Dr. George Hajishengallis, received two awards in 2011: a Ruth L. Kirschstein Research Service Award from NIH to support her studies, and 2nd place in the research poster competition at the Periodontal Disease Gordon Research Conference. Tiva Vancleave, Ph.D. student in the lab of Dr. Matt Lawrenz, was selected to be a Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) State Doctoral Scholar Fellow. Ashley Triplett, Ph.D. student in the lab of Dr. Jill Suttles, received an Ethnic Minority Doctoral Dissertation Award from the School of Interdisciplinary and Graduate Studies. Abhishek Srivastava, Ph.D. student in the lab of Dr. Haval Shirwan, and Jonathan Brown, Ph.D. student in the lab of Dr. Mike Martin, were recognized with the Graduate Dean’s Citation for their outstanding academic records and accomplishments. We also had several Research! Louisville poster winners: Liz Novak, Ph.D. student in the lab of Dr. Don Demuth, won the 2nd place Doctoral Basic Science Graduate Award, and Anita Chhabra, Ph.D. candidate in the lab of Dr. Michele Kosiewicz, won the Michael Tanner Memorial Award for Graduate Student Research. In addition, Jacob Scott, an Oral Biology student in the lab of Dr. Jonathan Warawa, won 2nd place in the Dental Student division for his poster presentation.

 We also are proud of the successes of our faculty and staff during the year. Several primary and secondary faculty members were recognized at the 2011 Celebration of Faculty Excellence. Dr. Yousef Abu Kwaik received the President’s Award for Excellence in Outstanding Scholarship, Research, and Creative Activity. Drs. Huang- Ge Zhang and Richard Lamont were recognized as recipients of endowed professorships. Drs. Haval Shirwan, Douglas Taylor and Henry Kaplan were honored for receiving patents, licenses, or options over the past year. Carolyn Burton, Graduate Program Coordinator, was recognized for 10 years of service to the university at the 2011 annual staff recognition luncheon.

 As Chair, I extend my gratitude to the faculty, staff, and students, whose enthusiasm and collegiality have fueled the continued success of the Department’s educational and research programs.