Infectious Diseases Research

Research in the Division of Infectious Diseases includes both basic investigation and clinical research. The bench research in the division has the broad objective of elucidating basic mechanisms of microbial pathogenesis and the related host responses that mediate susceptibility to infection, host injury, and protective immunity. Investigation targets viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic pathogens of major significance in community acquired infections in the United States, in infections of immunocompromised hosts, and in global public health. Current projects include:

  • Pathogen-host signaling in streptococcal infection
  • Novel strategies for pneumococcal vaccines
  • Enhancing innate and adaptive immunity in neonates
  • Regulation of bacterial virulence gene expression
  • Modeling cholera infection and host responses in Drosophila
  • HIV pathogenesis, immune response, and vaccine development
  • Regulation of morphogenesis in Candida albicans
  • Molecular approaches to malaria pathogenesis

Clinical research is focused in two broad areas: clinical trials in pediatric HIV and clinical epidemiology/clinical decision-making.

Researchers in the Division of Infectious Diseases hold faculty appointments at Harvard Medical School.

Latest Research in Infectious Diseases:

 

 

RESEARCHER FOCUS AREA

Anna Aldovini, MD

HIV biology
Thea Brennan-Krohn, MD  

Sandra Burchett, MD, MS

Viral infections
Avika Dixit, MBBS, MPH  

Simon Dove, PhD

Transcription regulation
David Dowling, PhD
  

Jeffrey Dvorin, MD, PhD

Malaria, Parasitology, Tropical Medicine

Sylvia Fischer, PhD

Host responses to viral infection and (retro)transposon activity, Small RNA mediated gene regulation

Lakshmi Ganapathi, MBBS

Clinical Research in Immunocompromised/Transplant Infectious diseases, HIV/Hepatitis C harm reduction in adolescents

Courtney Gidengil, MD, MPH

Pediatric Health Services Research

Donald Goldmann, MD

Bacterial Infection

Robert N. Husson, MD

Molecular pathogenesis of mycobacterial infection
Dennis Kim, MD, PhD
  Host-microbe interactions, Genetics of innate immunity

Julia R. Koehler, MD

Fungus; Candida albicans

Ofer Levy, MD, PhD

Innate immunity of the human newborn

Yingjie Lu, PhD

vaccine development for infectious disease

Richard Malley, MD

Pneumococcal pathogenesis and immunity, vaccine development

Kristin Moffitt, MD

Host bacterial pathogen interactions, Bacterial vaccine development

Mari Nakamura, MD, MPH

Vaccine health services research, Health information technology
Gregory Priebe, MD
Gregory Priebe, MD

Gregory Priebe, MD

Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections
Seth Rakoff-Nahoum, MD, PhD

Mechanistic Evolutionary Ecology of Host-associated Microbiomes

Thomas J. Sandora, MD, MPH

Hospital epidemiology, Hand hygiene, Healthcare-Associated Infections, Infection Prevention & Hospital Epidemiology

Tanvi Sharma, MD, MPH

Pediatric HIV, Immunocompromised infectious diseases
Simon van Haren, PhD
 Molecular mechanism of vaccine adjuvants, Vaccine Development

Ana M. Vaughan, MD, MPH

Hospital epidemiology, Infection Prevention and Control, Healthcare-associated infections, Immunocompromised infectious diseases

Jorge Velarde, MD, PhD

Group A Streptococcus Pathogenesis

Paula I. Watnick, MD, PhD

Impact of diarrheal pathogens on host metabolism and development; Vaccines and therapeutics for bacterial infection

Michael R. Wessels, MD

Streptococcus infection

Fan Zhang, PhD

 Vaccine Development; Immune Mechanism of Protection Against Human Pathogens