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Mentoring Guidelines
The mentoring of graduate students by faculty is an integral part of the graduate experience for both. Here are the guidelines that the Immunology Graduate Group follows.Interests of Faculty Members of the Group
The Immunology Graduate Group has faculty on the Davis campus and at the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. The address for mail to faculty in Davis (their contact information will not include city, state, or zip code):
Name
Department
University of California
One Shields Avenue
Davis CA 95616Faculty who are at the Medical Center in Sacramento will have a complete street address, city (Sacramento), State (CA) and zip code included in the contact information.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Kristina Abel
Assistant Adjunct Professor; and Staff Scientist
MED: Division of Infectious Diseases; and
California National Primate Research Center
(530) 754-5673
Email: kabel@ucdavis.edu
My research focuses on viral immunology. In particular, I am working on the vaginal transmission model of AIDS in the rhesus macaque model. More recently, my focus has shifted towards the study of infant HIV pathogenesis and vaccine design. We are planning to expand our model to study HIV in the context of other co-infection that occur at high frequencies in Africa. In collaboration with Dr. S. Luckhart, we are setting up an animal model for SIV-malaria coinfection. Another part of my research focuses on developmental differences in immune responses between infants and adults and how these affect pathogenesis. In addition to pathogenesis studies, we are involved in vaccine design. While most of the research is in the field of HIV/SIV vaccine design, my lab collaborates with Dr. P. Barry on CMV vaccine studies.
Alaa Afify, MD
Associate Professor and Director
MED: Department of Pathology
Research III Bldg, UCDMC
(916) 734-7477
Email: alaa.afify@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
Our area of interest is the hyaluronan and its receptor CD44. We are interested in evaluating the role of hyaluronan of different molecular size, CD44 and its variants on cancer. We are working on developing immunoliposomes that will target cancer cells.
Paul Ashwood, Ph.D.,
Assistant Professor
MED: Medical Microbiology and Immunology; and
M.I.N.D. Institute
(916) 703-0405
Email: pashwood@ucdavis.edu
Evaluating the immune response in children with autism and to examine the interface between the immune system and the central nervous system.
Stephen Barthold, D.V.M., Ph.D.,
Professor and Director
VM: Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology
Center for Comparative Medicine
(530) 752-1245
Email: swbarthold@ucdavis.edu
Host-agent interactions during persistent infections, with emphasis on Lyme disease, granulocytic ehrlichiosis, bartonellosis and murine helicobacter infections.
Nicole Baumgarth, D.V.M., Ph.D
Associate Professor
VM: Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology
Center for Comparative Medicine
(530) 754-5813
Email: nbaumgarth@ucdavis.edu
Regulation of immune responses to pathogens with emphasis on influenza virus infection and HIV; mucosal immunology; respiratory tract immunology; molecular regulation of early B cell activation; and function and development of B-1 cells.Andreas J. Baumler, Ph.D.
Professor
MED: Medical Microbiology and Immunology
451 East Health Science Drive
GBSF, Room 5513
(530) 754-7225
Email: ajbaumler@ucdavis.edu
Pathogenesis and host response to Salmonella infections.Charles L. Bevins, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
MED: Medical Microbiology and Immunology
451 East Health Science Drive
GBSF, Room 5617
Mail to: 3442 Tupper Hall
(530) 754-6889
Email: clbevins@ucdavis.eduInnate immune responses; mucosal immunology; antimicrobial peptides.
Christopher L. Bowlus, M.D.
Associate Professor
MED: Gastroenterology
451 E. health Sciences Drive, GBSF 6319
Davis, CA 95616
(530) 752-6128
Email: clbowlus@ucdavis.eduFunction of the thymic protease Prss16 in T cell development and susceptibility to autoimmunity. Clinical and translational studies of autoimmune disorders of the liver including Primary Biliary Cirrhosis and Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis.
Camie Chan, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
MED: Department of Cell Biology and Human Anatomy
Shriner's Hospital, Room 672
2425 Stockton Blvd
Sacramento, CA 95817
(916) 453-2237
Email: camchan@ucdavis.edu
Dendritic cell immunobiology; tumor immunology; viral immunology; tolerance and burn injury.Anthony T. Cheung, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus (on active recall)
MED: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
UCDMC Research III Bldg
(916) 734-3855
Email: atcheung@ucdavis.eduVascular biology.
Kiho Cho , Ph.D.
Associate Adjunct Professor
Shriner’s Hospital for Children; and
MED: Surgery
2425 Stockton Blvd
Sacramento, CA 96817
(916) 453-2284
Email: kcho@ucdavis.edu
Primarily focusing on the roles of murine endogenous retroviruses (MuERVs) in the post-burn systemic immune disorder and multiple organ failure using a murine model.Satya Dandekar, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
MED: Medical Microbiology & Immunology
451 East Health Sciences Drive
GBSF, Room 5511
(530) 752-3409 or (530) 752-3542
Email: sdandekar@ucdavis.eduKent L. Erickson, Ph.D.
Professor
MED: Cell Biology and Human Anatomy
3309 Tupper Hall
(530) 752-6616
Email: klerickson@ucdavis.edu
Cellular and molecular regulation of macrophage function. The work makes use of cytokines as well as lipid metabolites to assess pathways of signal transduction as well as effector functions of macrophages. In addition, my laboratory is involved with the development and differentiation of both embryonic and adult stem cells.Ursula Esser, Ph.D.
Assistant Adjunct Professor
MED: Pathology
(916) 734-4789
Email: uesser@ucdavis.eduMolecular T cell immunology and lymphocyte trafficking in simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection in the rhesus macaque animal model for AIDS; special interest in chemokine and chemokine receptor biology in SIV infection in particular how migratory signals and trafficking patterns may relate to appropriate SIV antigen encounter and mechanisms of immune protection; expression pattern and functionality of chemokine receptors and their ligands during normal T cell development.
Laurel J. Gershwin, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Professor
VM: Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology
3327 Vet Med 3A
(530) 752-6643
Email: ljgershwin@ucdavis.eduMechanisms of immune modulation in bovine respiratory syncytial virus infection, with particular emphasis on IgE, and in response to vaccines. Polymicrobial disease pathogenesis in the bovine lung. Effects of second-hand smoke on development of allergic lung disease/asthma using a mouse model. Vaccine hypersensitivity responses in the horse. Genetic correlates of allergic disease /IgE production in several animal species.
M. Eric Gershwin, M.D.
Professor and Chief
MED: Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology
451 East Health Science Drive
GBSF, Room 6510
(530) 752-2884
Email: megershwin@ucdavis.eduMolecular basis of immune regulation in autoimmunity. Cloning and sequencing the autoantigens that produce chronic liver disease, primary cirrhosis. Molecular genetic basis of systemic lupus erythematosus. Molecular and genetic tools are being utilized to study the genes contributing to susceptibility to murine lupus and the cellular and subcellular mechanisms that lead to immunopathology.
Tzipora Goldkorn, Ph.D.
Professor
MED: Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
451 East Health Science Drive
GBSF, 6th Floor
(530) 752-2988
Email: ttgoldkorn@ucdavis.edu
Ceramide/sphingomyelin signal transduction, stress modulation and apoptosis; molecular mechanisms of autoimmune antibodies in inflammatory diseases and the regulation of bacterial virulence.Daniel Hwang, Ph.D.
Adjunct Professor
Department of Nutrition; and
USDA Western Human Nutrition Research Center
430 Health Sciences Drive
(530) 754-4838
Email: dhwang@whnrc.usda.gov
The goal of our research is to elucidate molecular mechanisms by which different types of dietary fatty acids and phytochemicals modulate pattern recognition receptor-mediated signaling pathways, target gene expression, and subsequent cellular responses, and to determine how this modulation is related to risks of development and progression of chronic diseases (see recent publications in PubMed).Kirk C. Klasing, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Animal Science
2131B Meyer Hall
(530) 752-1901
Email: kcklasing@ucdavis.eduPhysiological ecology: Developmental, nutritional, and pathological costs of an immune response to pathogens; Nutrition and immunity: Effects of immune responses on metabolism and nutrient requirements. Avian immunology: Regulation of the avian inflammatory response.
Hsing-Jien Kung, Ph.D.
Professor and Deputy Director
UCDHS: Cancer Center Basic Science
UCDMC Research III, Rm 2400B
4645 2nd Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95817
(916) 734-1538
hkung@ucdavis.edu
Signal transduction; oncogenes; tyrosine kinases; prostate cancer and cancer virology.Kit S. Lam, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor and Chief
MED: Hematology and Oncology
UC Davis Cancer Center
4501 X Street
Sacramento, CA 95817
(916) 734-8012
Email: kit.lam@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
Application of combinatorial library methods for basic research and drug discovery, protein tyrosine kinases -- biochemistry and drug development, peptide targeted-therapy for cancer, antibiotics development for vancomycin-resistant infections, peptide immunology, proteomics, peptide chemistry and biology, and synthetic peptide and small-molecule combinatorial chemistry.Bill Lasley, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
VM: Department of Population, Health and Reproduction
1114 Tupper Hall
(530) 752-8506
Email: bllasley@ucdavis.edu
Comparative reproduction, reproductive toxicology and epidemiology (human, non-numan primate, wildlife, zoo/exotic).Patrick S. C. Leung, Ph.D.
Associate Adjunct Professor
MED: Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology
451 East Health Science Drive
GBSF, Room 6510
(530) 754-4943
Email: psleung@ucdavis.edu
Molecular basis of autoimmune diseases. Expression of autoantigens and epitope analysis of autoantigens. Molecular immuology of food allergens.Fu-Tong Liu, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
MED: Dermatology
3301 C Street, Suite 1400
Sacramento, CA 95816
(916) 734-6377
Email: fliu@ucdavis.edu
Specializes in the study of galectins, a family of proteins that regulate cell activities.Grace Loredo
Assistant Adjunct Professor
Sacramento VA Medical Center
10535 Hospital Way
Mather, CA 95655-1200
(916) 843-7133
Email: grace.loredo@med.va.govShirley Luckhart, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
MED: Medical Microbiology and Immunology
3437 Tupper Hall
(530) 754-6963 or (530) 754-4932 (Lab)
Email: sluckhart@ucdavis.edu
General areas of research in the laboratory include: the molecular cell biology and biochemistry of the interaction between malaria parasites and their mosquito hosts, the functional characterization of primitive orthologs of mammalian innate immune molecules and cell signaling proteins using the mosquito as an invertebrate model. Specific research projects include: characterization of mosquito gene products that inhibit malaria parasite development and molecular/biochemical analysis of parasite damage; signal transduction pathways involved in parasite induction of mosquito innate immunity; analysis of expression, signaling, and regulation of anti-parasite genes in mosquitoes; molecular and functional analyses of immune factors that are conserved between mosquitoes and their mammalian hosts; immunological crosstalk between mosquitoes and mammals at the interface of bloodfeeding.Emanual Maverakis, M.D.
Assistant Professor
MED: Department of Dermatology
Email: emaverakis@ucdavis.eduMelinda H. MacDonald, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
VM: Surgical and Radiological Sciences
1310M Tupper Hall
(530) 752-3416
Email: mhmacdonald@ucdavis.edu
Inflammation in the equine upper and lower airway. Equine inflammatory joint disease.Lisa A. Miller, Ph.D.
Associate Adjunct Professor
California Regional Primate Research Center; and
VM: Anatomy, Physiology, and Cell Biology
2218 Haring Hall
(530) 754-7546 or 752-6066
Email: lmiller@ucdavis.edu
Mucosal and developmental immunology, primarily within the lung. Leukocyte-epithelial cell interactions. Chemokine-mediated mechanisms of leukocyte trafficking within the pulmonary immune system in response to allergens and air pollutants.Robert T. O'Donnell, M.D., Ph.D.
Assosciate Professor
MED: Hematology and Oncology
UC Davis Cancer Center
4501 X Street, Room 3016
Sacramento, CA 95817
(916) 734-3735
Email: rtodonnell@ucdavis.edu
Radioimmuotherapy using radionuclide-labelled, cancer-specific monoclonal antibodies for treatment of patients with metastatic breast or prostate cancer, and lymphoma. Use of nude mouse models to explore synergy between this radioimmunotherapy and other drugs. Molecular, genetic changes caused by therapy and their effects on apoptosis. Molecular engineering of new antibody fragments capable of targeting malignant cells.John Peters, Ph.D.
Associate Professor-in-Residence
MED: Internal Medicine
Email: jhpeters@ucdavis.eduKent E. Pinkerton, Ph.D.
Professor and Director
Center for Health and the Environment, Room 103
(530) 752-8334 (office), (530) 752-5231 (lab)
Email: kepinkerton@ucdavis.edu
Immunotoxicology of the respiratory system. The effects of environmental air pollutants (gases, vapors, and particles) on lung inflammation and disease. The role of cytokines and growth factors in lung maturation and development.Subhadip Raychaudhuri, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Biomedical Engineering
451 East Health Science Drive
GBSF
(530) 754-6716
Email: raychaudhuri@ucdavis.eduComputational and mathematical modeling of immune response and disease, B cell recognition of antigen and signaling, cell death (apoptosis) signaling and cellular decision making, cell-to-cell stochastic fluctuations in cellular signaling and design principles of signaling networks.
Gary Rhodes, Ph.D.
Associate Adjunct Professor
MED: Pathology
3436 Tupper Hall
(530) 754-8327
Email: grhodes@ucdavis.eduMain project is to produce a nucleic acid vaccine against HIV using the SIV model including the investigation of immune mechanisms which control lentivirus infections. Use of nucleic acid vaccination to investigate immune mechanisms; the mechanisms by which viruses escape immune attack; and a gene therapy program.
Grace L. Rosenquist, Ph.D.
Assistant Adjunct Professor
DBS: Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior
294A Briggs Hall
(530) 752-4973
Email: rosenqui@a.psc.edu
Post-translational modification of neuropeptides such as tyrosine sulfation which functions in the gut and immune systems: complement-4, immunoglobulin H chains. The prediction of tertiary structure such as packed helices from primary amino acid sequences. Confirmation of predicted structure by nuclear magnetic resonance.Barbara L. Shacklett, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
MED: Medical Microbiology & Immunology; and
MED: Division of Infectious Diseases
3327 Tupper Hall
(530) 752-6785
Email: blshacklett@ucdavis.edu
Cell-mediated immune responses to HIV-1 and other viruses in mucosal lymphoid tissues, and trafficking of lymphoid cells to mucosal tissues and the central nervous system.Scott I. Simon, Ph.D.
Professor
Departrment of Biomedical Engineering
451 E. Health Sciences Drive
(530) 752-0299
Email: sisimon@ucdavis.edu
Interested in blood-cell function, but specific area of interest is the behavior of one type of white blood cell, called the neutrophil. Neutrophils are in concentrations of about a billion per liter and circulate in the vasculature for only a few hours before being cleared in organs. Their goal over this interval is to surveil the circulation and peripheral tissues for bacteria and other foreign invaders and to home to sites of inflammation.Ellen E. Sparger, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Associate Adjunct Professor
VM: Medicine and Epidemiology
3115 Tupper Hall
(530) 754-8461
Email: eesparger@ucdavis.edu
Molecular pathogenesis of feline immunodeficiency virus in cats; LTR mutant viruses; DNA vaccines.Charles B. Stephensen, Ph.D.
Adjunct Professor
USDA Western Human Nutrition Research Center
430 West Health Sciences Drive
(530) 754-9266
Email: cstephen@whnrc.usda.gov
The role which micronutrients--particularly Vitamin A--play in immune function and resistance to infectious diseases and, conversely, in the impact of infection on nutritional status. Current work focuses on the role of vitamin A in the development of T-helper cells in mice and humans. Other projects also include the impact of omega-3 fatty acids on inflammation in human subjects with genetic variation in the ALOX5 gene, the first enzyme in leukotriene synthesis, and the impact of vitamin D on immne function.Jeffrey L. Stott, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Professor
VM: Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology
3323 Vet Med 3A
(530) 752-2543
Email: jlstott@ucdavis.edu
Developmental, comparative, and clinical immunology with emphasis on bovine, equine, marine mammals, and zoo animal species. Viral and bacterial immunopathogenesis of the fetus and neonate. Immunology of the bovine mammary gland.Yoshikazu Takada, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
MED: Dermatology
UCDMC, Research III, Suite 3300, 4645 2nd Ave
(916) 734-7443
Email: ytakada@ucdavis.edu
Mechanism and regulation of integrin/ligand interactions. Role of integrins in growth factor signaling.Suzanne S. Teuber, M.D.
Professor
MED: Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology
451 E Health Sciences Drive, Ste 6513
(530) 752-4257
Molecular characterization of food allergens associated with life-threatening anaphylactic reactions. Effect of seed polyphenolics on immune response and the possible role in development of food allergy to peanuts and tree nuts. Cross-reactivity of a food allergy.Jose V. Torres, Ph.D.
Professor
MED: Medical Microbiology and Immunology
3134 Tupper Hall
(530) 752-3157
Email: jvtorres@ucdavis.edu
Our laboratory is dedicated to the study of cancer. Our work includes: design, development and testing of new tumor vaccine components, study of tumors that avoid recognition and elimination by the human immune system, development of preventive and therapeutic approaches against cancer and induction of cellular and mucosal immune responses. Current interests include: tumor immunology, cancer immunotherapy, cancer-associated viruses, LTNP to AIDS and preventive and therapeutic vaccines against cancer and cancer-associated viruses.Alfonso Tramontano, Ph.D.
Adjunct Professor
MED: Nephrology
Surge I, Room 1121
(530) 752-8909
Email: tramontano@ucdavis.edu
Our research is concerned with mechanisms of autoimmunity as they relate to pathogenesis. We utilize various animal models to investigate autoimmune diseases, including diabetes, arthritis and glomerulonephritis. These efforts focus on the molecular determinants of innate and adaptive immunity, which include conformational epitopes and posttranslational modifications. Recominant autoantigens expressed in insect cell hosts provide useful models for molecular studies. Projects include the development of antigen-based immunotherapeutic strategies for intervention in disease pathogenesis. Molecular libraries of human antibodies in phage display are employed to investigate autoimmune renal disease and for discovery of potential therapeutic antibodies with unconventional activity.Renee M. Tsolis, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
MED: Medical Microbiology and Immunology
GBSF, Room 5519
(530) 754-8497
Email: rmtsolis@ucdavis.edu
Host-microbe interactions mediating intracellular persistence of the bacterial pathogen Brucella.Joseph M. Tuscano, M.D.
Associate Professor
MED: Hematology and Oncology
UC Davis Cancer Center
4501 X Street
Sacramento, CA 95817
(916) 734-3771
Email: joseph.tuscano@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
Myeloid and lymphatic signal transduction abnormalities; their role in human disease.Judy Van de Water, Ph.D.
Professor in Residence
MED: Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology
Genome and Biomedical Sciences Facility, 6th Floor, Room 6512
(530) 752-2154
Email: javandewater@ucdavis.edu
Immunopathology and the cellular and molecular basis of autoimmunity. Current research addresses the biological aspects of autism spectrum disorders including immune function, cellular mechanisms of immune dysregulation, and autoimmunity. Dr. van de Water also works in the area of primary biliary cirrhosis, an autoimmune liver disease.Andrew T. Vaughan, Ph.D.
Professor
UCDHS: Department of Radiation Oncology
4501 X Street, Ste G140
Sacramento, CA 95817
(916) 734-8726
Email: andrew.vaughan@ucdmc.ucdavis.eduRobert H. Weiss, M.D.
Professor
MED: Nephrology
GBSF, Rm 6312
(530) 752-4010
Email: rhweiss@ucdavis.edu
My research is focused on signal transduction and second messenger events in cellular growth and apoptosis. Specific areas of interest include: (1) the function of the cyclin and tumor suppressor proteins in vascular cells, kidney disease, and cancer; (2) metabolomic and proteomic studies of cancer biomarkers; (3) the role of the epoxyeicosanoids and their metabolites in vascular cell growth and apoptosis.Jean Wiedeman
Associate Professor
MED: Pediatrics
Ticon II Building, UCDMC
(530) 754-5055 or (916) 734-3557
Email: jataylorwiedeman@ucdavis.edu
Our laboratory is interested in the analysis of 2 main microbiol pathogens, Chlamydia pneumoniae and human cytomegalovirus, and their role in atherosclerosis. Chlamydia pneumoniae investigations are targeted toward examination of the biology of persistence in endothelial, smooth muscle cells. Human cytomegalovirus work is focused on determining viral genetic factors involved with endothelial cell tropism. The third area of interest in the laboratory is directed toward examining the ability of the 2 pathogens to alter host cell adhesion molecules and their respective infection cycles under co-infection conditions in cell types relevant to the atherosclerotic plaque e.g. endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, T cells and monocyte/macrophages.Reen Wu, Ph.D.
Professor
MED: Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine; and
VM: Anatomy, Physiology and Cell Biology
1121 Surge I
(530) 752-2648
Email: rwu@ucdavis.edu
Lung cell biology, growth and differentiation; injury and repair; gene regulation; carcinogenesis.Heike Wulff, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
MED: Department of Pharmacology
(530) 754-6135
Email: hwulff@ucdavis.eduIon channels in the immune system.
Tilahun D. Yilma, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Professor
VM: Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology
2079A Haring Hall
(530) 752-8306
Email: tdyilma@ucdavis.edu
SIV in macaques as a model for AIDS vaccine development. Development of an infectious vaccinia virus recombinant vaccine for rinderpest. Biological characterization of vaccinia virus recombinants expressing interferon gamma-HIV fusion proteins. Developing a sub-unit vaccine and rapid diagnostic kit of vesicular stomatitis using baculovirus.
