Virology & Microbial Pathogenesis

Faculty in Virology and Microbial Pathogenesis are intrigued by how microbes manipulate their multi-cellular hosts to cause disease. The resultant research programs provide an unprecedented opportunity to influence global health. World-wide, infectious diseases are the leading cause of death, with simple diarrheal illness, malaria, and TB leading the pack. These and other infectious diseases, including AIDS, are a major impediment to economic advancement in the third world. The identification of new pathogens, the re-emergence of old pathogens, and the increasing incidence of antibiotic resistance reflect the globalization of humanity and microbes. New as well as old pathogens can rapidly move great distances and establish footholds in new niches. Strategies for the prevention, treatment, and control of infectious diseases require fundamental bench research that takes advantages of rapid advances in genomics, proteomics, cell biology, and immunology. Our faculty are dedicated to the investigation of microbial biology and host-pathogen interactions.

 

UCSF has developed world-class research programs in Infectious Disease. Virology and Microbial Pathogenesis forms one of 8 thematic areas of graduate study in the BMS program. Faculty members affiliated with this thematic area of BMS include virologists, some of whom are affiliated with the Gladstone Institute of Virology & Immunology, and researchers involved in the study of bacterial, fungal, and protozoal pathogens, who are affiliated with the Microbial Pathogenesis and Host Defense Program (MPHD). The MPHD program takes graduate students largely through BMS or the PIBS program. The Virology and Microbial Pathogenesis subdivision of BMS is truly a multi-campus and multi-disciplinary program, with investigators at Parnassus, MB, SFGH, the VA hospital, and the Gladstone Institutes of Virology at MB. The core of the program includes (i) a weekly MPHD seminar series, with invited outside researchers who are national and international leaders in the field, along with research in progress talks and journal clubs (ii) the weekly Gladstone Institutes of Virology seminar series (iii) a yearly bay area-wide symposium (Bay Area Microbial Pathogenesis Symposium), and (iv) advanced level graduate student courses in The Molecular Mechanisms of Microbial Pathogenesis (Micro and Immunology 202/Cell Bio 202) and Virology. Each of these two courses is usually offered on an alternating basis every other year in the spring quarter. In addition, selective mini-courses that study unique aspects of virology or microbial pathogenesis in detail will be offered in the spring quarter.


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Participating Faculty

Rachel Rutishauser, MD, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Immunology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Virology & Microbial Pathogenesis
Research Summary: 
CD8+ T cell immunity to viral pathogens (e.g., HIV, SARS-CoV2) and vaccination at various stages of human development.

Tiffany Scharschmidt, MD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Immunology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Virology & Microbial Pathogenesis
Research Summary: 
Immune mechanisms that support host-commensal symbiosis
Mentorship Development: 

11/23/20    Building Community in the UCSF MSTP 
2/16/21    Three Truths and Three Tries: Facing and Overcoming Critical Social Justice Challenges at the Micro, Mezzo, and Macro Levels    

Anita Sil, MD, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Virology & Microbial Pathogenesis
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Immunology
Research Summary: 
Regulation of cell shape and virulence by temperature in the fungal pathogen Histoplasma capsulatum
Mentorship Development: 

11/23/20   Building Community in the UCSF MSTP

Sara Suliman, PhD, MPH

Primary Thematic Area: 
Immunology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Virology & Microbial Pathogenesis
Research Summary: 
Dissecting host mechanisms of tuberculosis (TB) pathogenesis and disease progression, defining immunological correlates of protection, and validating biomarkers and point-of-care diagnostics for TB and COVID-19

Peter Turnbaugh, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Virology & Microbial Pathogenesis
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Immunology
Research Summary: 
Impact of the human gut microbiome on pharmacology and nutrition
Mentorship Development: 

4/12/19  Acknowleding and Negotiating the Mentee-Mentor Tensions Inherent in the Research Lab (Parnassus)
5/2021 Sharpening your Mentoring Skills (SyMS)

Eric Verdin, MD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Virology & Microbial Pathogenesis
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Immunology
Research Summary: 
HIV Pathogenesis and lymphocyte biology

Leor Weinberger, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Virology & Microbial Pathogenesis
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Research Summary: 
Regulatory Circuitry of Viruses and Engineering Novel Therapeutics
Mentorship Development: 

2022 Gladstone Outstanding Mentoring Award

Michael Wilson, MD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Virology & Microbial Pathogenesis
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Immunology
Research Summary: 
Genomic approaches to identifying causes and understanding the pathogenesis of autoimmune and infectious neuroinflammatory conditions including encephalitis, meningitis and multiple sclerosis, and developing cell-based therapies for treatment.
Mentorship Development: 

5/2021 - Sharpening your Mentoring Skills (SyMS)

Steven Yukl, MD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Virology & Microbial Pathogenesis
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Immunology
Research Summary: 
My research aims to understand the barriers that prevent HIV cure, with a focus on determining the mechanism governing latent HIV infection and evaluating new therapies aimed to disrupt viral latency.

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