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Fall 2010

Fagan-Garcia, Katharine

The classical Nuclear Factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway is an important regulator of inflammation and innate immune responses. Poxviruses, including vaccinia virus, encode multiple immune evasion proteins, including a growing number of NF-κB inhibitors. To determine if additional vaccinia...

Fall 2010

Marcet, Candy

Mast cells are immune cells important in innate immunity. Besides their role in asthma and allergies, mast cells are critical effector cells against various pathogens. Mast cells are established to be protective against bacterial infections, but little is known about their functions in viral...

Spring 2014

Urbanowski, Matthew D.

The introduction of WNV into North America in 1999 was followed by rapid spread throughout the continent. Today, WNV is an endemic pathogen in the west, with thousands of cases of severe infection reported annually. In addition to traditional vaccine research, there is an urgent need to...

Fall 2015

Kumar, Ankit

Influenza is a major respiratory disease caused by influenza virus. Recent spread of the extremely pathogenic avian and swine influenza viruses paint a morbid picture of the emergence of a more lethal influenza virus in future. Currently, hypodermic needles are being dominantly employed in...

Spring 2019

Jensen, Lionel D

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is an Orthopneumovirus that infects the epithelium of the airways. Severe RSV infection of the lower respiratory tract in infants is a leading cause of pediatric hospitalizations. RSV also causes substantial morbidity in immunocompromised and elderly populations....

Spring 2020

Griffiths, Cameron

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a ubiquitous respiratory pathogen that infects almost everyone by the age of two. In high-risk populations, such as infants and elderly individuals, RSV can infect the lower respiratory tract and cause severe symptoms, such as bronchiolitis or pneumonia. As a...

Fall 2020

Rubino, Ilaria

Infectious respiratory diseases, caused by viruses and bacteria that attack the respiratory system, constitute a serious threat in public health around the world. Pathogens can be transmitted in the air though large droplets or aerosols. As aerosols can linger in the environment for a prolonged...

Fall 2021

Vallee, Gregory Thomas

Poxviruses encode many genes that are orthologs of cellular genes. These orthologs serve many functions, but those that are of most interest are ones that have evolved further and now serve an immune-evasion function. Such genes were likely first acquired by poxviruses through some form of...

Spring 2014

Skappak, Christopher Dustin

This thesis examines the pathophysiology of asthma, attempts to determine the cellular mechanisms behind viral-induced immune memory mediated asthma exacerbations, and investigates urinary metabolomic biomarkers of asthma and neonatal hypoxia.