Affiliated Faculty
This list of affiliated investigators can help you identify potential research mentors at the University of Pittsburgh. PSTP students can, and do, work with mentors not on this list, but the investigators featured below have expressed interest in hosting PSTP students in their laboratories.
HIV infection and therapeutics
HSV gene expression in productive and persistent infections
The design and development of cationic peptides as an effective countermeasure to the persistent problem of antibiotic resistance and other types of hard-to-treat infectious diseases.
Immunology and Pathogenesis of Tuberculosis
Signal Transduction; The role of the Akt kinase in NF-kB and T cell activation; Role of TIM proteins in T cell activation
Our lab is focused on the host protective immune responses to M. tuberculosis, a major factor in outcome of infection.
Mechanisms of HIV-1 persistence at the single cell level and evaluating strategies to cure HIV-1 infection, including latency reversing agents, monoclonal antibodies, cellular immunotherapy and therapeutic vaccines
HIV-associated lung disease; HIV-associated emphysema; Role of Pneumocystis in COPD
Immunometabolism at the host:pathogen interface using Staphylococcus aureus as a model pathogen
The Van Tyne Lab studies how bacteria evolve to become superbugs, using comparative genomics and functional analysis. Our research falls into two main areas. First, we work to understand how bacteria evolve during human infection to resist antibiotics and host immune defenses. We sequence bacterial strains from human infections and use functional genomics to identify and characterize novel resistance mechanisms. These include the ability of bacteria to resist the host immune system, or to persist in the face of antibiotic pressure. Second, we help develop new approaches to treat resistant bacterial infections more effectively. We help characterize new types of antibiotics, and establish how novel compounds kill bacteria. We are also exploring how bacteriophages could be developed into next-generation antibacterials.
The cell entry, immunity, and pathogenesis of human metapneumovirus (HMPV)