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People at Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology

Principal/Primary Faculty

Helene Andrews-Polymenis, DVM, PhD
Professor and Presidential Impact Fellow
Characterization of Salmonella enterica virulence genes

Carolyn Cannon, MD, PhD
Associate Professor

Zhilei Chen, PhD
Associate Professor
Antiviral Discovery and Biotechnology

K. Yeon Choi, PhD
Research Associate Professor

Jeffrey D. Cirillo, PhD
Regents Professor
Molecular genetic analysis of bacterial respiratory pathogens

Karu Chockalingam, PhD
Research Assistant Professor

Paul de Figueiredo, PhD
Professor
Molecular mechanisms mediating host-pathogen interactions, the evolution of pathogenesis, the discovery of novel anti-microbials, and the development of biotechnology platforms

David P. Huston, MD
Professor and Vice Dean - Houston campus
Immunobiology of Allergic Inflammation

Jenny Hyde, PhD
Assistant Professor
Pathogenic mechanisms and immune modulation of Borrelia burgdorferi, etiologic agent of Lyme disease

Julian Leibowitz, MD, PhD
Professor
Coronavirus replication and gene expression and the molecular basis of coronavirus pathogenesis

Alistair McGregor, PhD
Associate Professor
Herpes viruses, pathogenicity, vaccines and antivirals. Cytomegalovirus congenital infection.

Kristin Patrick, PhD
Assistant Professor
Regulation of RNA metabolism during bacterial infection

James Samuel, PhD
Regents Professor and Head
Wofford Cain Endowed Chair in Infectious Disease
Molecular pathogenesis and vaccine development for Q fever

Jon Skare, PhD
Professor and Associate Head
Molecular pathogenesis of Lyme borreliosis

Jianxun (Jim) Song, PhD
Professor
Cellular regulation of T cell immunity and tolerance

Vernon Tesh, PhD
Professor
Pathogenic mechanisms of Shiga toxins

Erin Van Schaik, PhD
Research Assistant Professor

Hongbin Wang, PhD
Professor
Biomedical Informatics Core, Clinical Science & Translational Research

Robert O. Watson, PhD, MPH
Associate Professor
Host-pathogen interactions responsible for M. tuberculosis virulence

A. Phillip West, PhD
Assistant Professor
Mitochondrial regulation of immune responses in health and disease

Laura Ciaccia West, PhD
Instructional Assistant Professor
Immune responses to cancer

Van Wilson, PhD
Professor
Molecular biology of papillomaviruses

Joint/Adjunct Faculty

Robert Chapkin, PhD
Regents Professor

Michael Criscitiello, PhD
Assistant Professor

Kevin Cummings, PhD
Assistant Professor

Jason Gill, PhD
Associate Professor
Bacteriophage Biology & Microbiology

Magnus Höök, PhD
Director, Center for Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases
Interaction of pathogens with components of the extracellular matrix

Julian Hurdle, PhD
Associate Professor
Center for Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases

Arul Jayaraman, PhD
Associate Professor
Holder of the Ray Nesbitt Development Professorship

Amminikutty Jeevan, PhD
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Investigate whether ultraviolet radiation alters BCG vaccination-induced host resistance in the well-established guinea pig model of low dose pulmonary tuberculosis

Koichi S Kobayashi M.D., Ph.D.
Adjunct Professor
Regulation of the innate and adaptive immune system

Lan Ly, PhD
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Vaccine-induced resistance in the guinea pig model of tuberculosis

Katja Mertens, PhD
Assistant Professor

Margarita Martinez-Moczygemba, PhD
Assistant Professor
Cytokine signaling and eosinophil biology

Karen Newell-Rogers, PhD
Professor

Benjamin Neuman
Biology Professor

Daniel Paredes-Sabja
Joint Associate Professor

W.J. Treat, PhD
Adjunct Research Professor

Sunita Varghees, MD
Assistant Professor

Yi Xu, PhD
Assistant Professor
Bacteria and host interactions; bacterial pathogenesis; bacterial activation of the actin cytoskeleton; bacterial breaching of the mucosal barrier

Zhilong Yang
Joint Associate Professor
Department of Veterinary Pathobiology

Dekai Zhang, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Molecular mechanisms of innate immune recognition

Emeritus Faculty

Roderick McCallum, PhD
Professor Emeritus
Community outreach programs to increase childhood vaccination rates

David McMurray, PhD
Professor Emeritus
Regulation of infectious disease resistance by vaccination and diet

John Quarles, PhD
Professor Emeritus
Antiviral vaccines and drugs and applications of flow cytometry in microbiology

 

Research Staff

Shannon Allen
Research Group: Skare
979.436.0355
Shannon.allen@tamu.edu
Associate Research Scientist

Sarah Caballero
Research group: deFigueiredo
caballero.sarah@tamu.edu
979-436-9013
Research Assistant

Madison Ellis
Research group: Leibowitz
madison.ellis10@tamu.edu
979-436-0344
Research Assistant

Hsing Fann
Research Group: deFigueiredo
hfann@tamu.edu
979.436.9013
Research Scientist
 

Lisa Funkhouser-Jones
Research Group: Skare
l.funkhouser-jones@tamu.edu
979.436.0355
Assistant Research Scientist

Alex Nguyen
979-436-9494
Research Assistant
Research group: Chen

Qingming Qin
Research group: de Figueiredo
qmqin@tamu.edu
979.436.9013
Associate Research Scientist

Xiaofang Xiong
Research group: Song
xxiong@tamu.edu
979.436.0794
Research Associate

Yu Zeng
Research Group: Chen
979.436.9494
zyqshshl66@tamu.edu
Assistant Research Scientist

Support Staff

Angela Corn
Business Coordinator II
979.436.0347
angelacorn@tamu.edu

Debra Dube
Business Coordinator I
979.436.0556
ddube@tamu.edu

Paula McCarver
Business Administrator I
979.436.0346
pmccarver@tamu.edu

Kelli Richard
Administrative Coordinator I
979.436.0345
kcooks@tamu.edu

LeeAnn Nichols
Administrative Coordinator II
979.436.0348
nichols@tamu.edu

Graduate Students

Francesca Agobe
Research Group: Cannon
francesca@exchange.tamu.edu

Kaitlyn Armijo
Research Group: Patrick/ Watson
karmijo@tamu.edu

Darby Ballard
Research Group: Song
darbyballard@tamu.edu

Sabrina Clark
Research Group: Samuel
coolclark@tamu.edu

Aja Coleman
Research Group: Patrick/Watson
coleman123@tamu.edu

Nadia El-Hamdi
Research group: McGregor
nselhamdi@exchange.tamu.edu
979.436.0311

Lauren Farris
Research Group: Hyde
lauren.farris@tamu.edu
979.436.0852

David Gafford-Gaby
Research Group: Hyde
 

Victoria Hamilton
Research Group: Cannon
victoria.hamilton@tamu.edu

Abby Lei
Research group: West
abbylei@exchange.tamu.edu
979.436.0839

Cory Mabry
Research Group: Patrick/Watson
cory1024@tamu.edu

Eduardo Martinez
Research Group: Patrick/Watson
emarti62@tamu.edu

Ricardo Munoz
Research Group: Cannon
ricardo.munoz01@tamu.edu
979-436-0867

Aravindh Nagarajan
Research group: Andrews-Polymenis
aravindh@exchange.tamu.edu
979.436.0341

Sylvia Torres Odio
Research group: West
torres.odio@exchange.tamu.edu
979.436.9442

Hao Yun Peng
Research group: Song
haoyun0122@tamu.edu
979.436.0348

Alexandra Powell
Research group: Skare
adpowell@tamu.edu
979.862.5988

Abigail Schoeller
Research Group: West
amschoeller@tamu.edu

Haley Scott
Research group: Patrick
hms227@exchange.tamu.edu
979.436.0352

Brittany Shapiro
Research Group: Skare
bshap48@tamu.edu

Mackenzie Smith
Research Group: Patrick
mackenzie.smith@tamu.edu
979.436.0352

Benjamin Thomas
Research Group: Chen
magicairben6@tamu.edu

Jordyn Vanportfliet
Research Group: West
vanport8@tamu.edu

Liqing Wang
Research group: Song
wang1989@exchange.tamu.edu
979.436.0794

Ashley Winters
Research Group: West
ashleywinters@tamu.edu

Michael Woolley
Research Group: Chen
michael.woolley@tamu.edu

Postdoctoral Research Associates

Aryashree Arunima
Research Group: Samuel
aarunima@tamu.edu
979-436-0351

Alex Azam Sikandar
Research Group: Patrick/Watson
azam@tamu.edu
979.436.0367

Vanessa Ante
Research Group: Hyde
ante@tamu.edu
979.436.0871

Aaron Benjamin
Research Group: Cirillo
aaronbbenjamin@tamu.edu
979.436.9164

Joshua Bryant
Research group: West
joshbryant@tamu.edu
979.436.9442

Yi-Fan Chen
Research Group: West
yfchen1986@tamu.edu
979.436.9494

Jugal Das
Research Group: Song
jugal@tamu.edu
979.436.0794

Jennifer Dumaine
Research Group: Samuel
jennifer.dumaine@tamu.edu
979.436.0651

Timothy Fitzsimons
Research Group: Patrick/Watson
fitzsimons@tamu.edu
979.436.0367

Fengguang Guo
Research Group: deFigueiredo
gfg3@tamu.edu
979.436.9013

Kent Koster
Research Group: Cirillo
kkoster@tamu.edu
979.436.9164

Anil Kumar
Research Group: Song
anil85krp@tamu.edu
979.436.0794

Sathish Kumar
Research Group: Cirillo
kskumar@tamu.edu
979.436.9164

Max Lebedev
Research Group: Cirillo
mlebedev@exchange.tamu.edu
979.436.9164

Saugata Mahapatra
Research Group: Samuel
saugata@tamu.edu
979.436.0367

Sara Ann Milligan
Research Group: West
skirolos@tamu.edu
979.436.9442

Joana Rocha
Research Group: Andrews-Polymenis
joana1@tamu.edu
979.436.0341

Rudo Simeon
Research Group: Chen
rsimeon@exchange.tamu.edu
979.436.9494

Brandee Stone
Research Group: Hyde
brandee.stone@tamu.edu
979.436.0871

Catherine Weindel
Research Group: Patrick/Watson
chiweindel@tamu.edu
979.436.0273

Kelsey Wells
Research group: de Figueiredo
kmwells@exchange.tamu.edu
979.436.0358

Dongmei Zhang 
Research Group: de Figueiredo 
dongmei@tamu.edu
979.436.9013