Department Chair

Michael V. Norgard, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair, Microbiology
Research interests: Regulation and roles of virulence-associated membrane lipoproteins in the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi; structure and function of membrane lipoproteins in the syphilis bacterium, Treponema pallidum.
Website: Norgard Lab
michael.norgard@utsouthwestern.edu

Faculty

Neal M. Alto, Ph.D.
Professor of Microbiology
Research interests: Intersection between human signal-transduction and bacterial pathogenesis; use of biochemical and cell biological analysis to define molecular mechanisms of microbial infectious disease.
Website: Alto Lab
neal.alto@utsouthwestern.edu

Chad A. Brautigam, Ph.D.
Professor, Biophysics and Microbiology
Research interests: Protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions; structural elucidation of enzymatic mechanisms.
Website: Brautigam Lab
chad.brautigam@utsouthwestern.edu

Xinyun (Sherry) Cao, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Microbiology
Research interests: Transcription and regulation in Clostridioides difficile and other bacterial species; structure and function of RNA polymerase; high-throughput screening of transcription inhibitors.
Website: Cao Lab
xinyun.cao@utsouthwestern.edu

Nicholas K. Conrad, Ph.D.
Professor of Microbiology
Research interests: Gene expression, RNA biogenesis, and RNA decay in the Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus and its human host cell.
Website: Conrad Lab
nicholas.conrad@utsouthwestern.edu

Iván D’Orso, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Microbiology
Research interests: HIV-host interplay; mechanisms of transcription regulation, and evolution of viral-host macromolecular assemblies.
Website: D’Orso Lab
Ivan.Dorso@UTSouthwestern.edu

Kevin Forsberg, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Microbiology
Research interests: The molecular determinants of phage-bacterial infection outcomes; gene discovery; evolutionary arms races; origins of new function.
Website: Forsberg Lab
Kevin.Forsberg@UTSouthwestern.edu

Don Gammon, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Microbiology
Research interests: Virus-Host interactions; invertebrate model systems; RNA/DNA virus replication; immune evasion and pathogenesis; viral manipulation of host cytoskeletal networks; virus co-infections.
Website: Gammon Lab
don.gammon@utsouthwestern.edu

David Greenberg, M.D.
Professor, Internal Medicine and Microbiology
Research interests: Gram-negative infections in the immunocompromised host; host-pathogen interactions; novel therapeutics in Gram-negative infections.
david.greenberg@utsouthwestern.edu

David R. Hendrixson, Ph.D.
Professor of Microbiology
Research interests: Identification of bacterial virulence and colonization factors; regulation of flagellar organelle biosynthesis and division; analysis of bacterial signal transduction pathways.
Website: Hendrixson Lab
david.hendrixson@utsouthwestern.edu

Lora Hooper, Ph.D.
Chair, Immunology
Professor of Immunology and Microbiology
Research interests: Host-microbial interactions; commensal bacteria; mucosal immunity.
Website: Hooper Lab
lora.hooper@utsouthwestern.edu

Jeffrey S. Kahn, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief, Division of Pediatric Infectious Disease
Professor of Pediatrics and Microbiology
Research interests: Molecular epidemiology and biology of respiratory syncytial virus; newly emerging human viral pathogens.
Website: Kahn Lab
jeffrey.kahn@utsouthwestern.edu

Andrew Koh, M.D.
Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Microbiology
Research interests: Pathogenesis of Candida albicans and Pseudomonas aeruginosa; host-pathogen interactions.
Website: Koh Lab
andrew.koh@utsouthwestern.edu

Jessica Moreland, M.D.
Chief, Division of Pediatric Critical Care
Professor of Pediatrics and Microbiology
Research interests: Cell biology of neutrophil-based inflammation under infectious and sterile inflammatory conditions, specifically focused on neutrophil priming by both host and bacterial stimuli; role of NAPDH oxidase 2 in signaling generated by TLR ligands and TNF; regulation of the NADPH oxidase function in neutrophils.
jessica.moreland@utsouthwestern.edu

Josephine Ni, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Internal Medicine and Microbiology
Research interests: Bacterial colonization of the healthy and inflamed intestinal tract; how biofilm formation contributes to intestinal colonization; developing new
therapeutics to treat intestinal diseases.
Website: Ni Lab
Josephine.Ni@UTSouthwestern.edu

Robert Orchard, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Immunology and Microbiology
Research interests: Functional genomic CRISPR/Cas9 screens; mammalian physiology and immune responses to norovirus, influenza virus, and enterovirus.
Website: Orchard Lab
robert.orchard@utsouthwestern.edu

Julie Pfeiffer, Ph.D.
Professor of Microbiology
Research interests: Poliovirus; reovirus; hepatitis C virus; yellow fever virus; virus-host interactions, pathogenesis, and drug resistance.
Website: Pfeiffer Lab
julie.pfeiffer@utsouthwestern.edu

Tiffany A. Reese, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Immunology and Microbiology
Research interests: Herpesviruses; parasite co-infection and viral reactivation and latency phenotypes.
Website: Reese Lab
tiffany.reese@utsouthwestern.edu

John W. Schoggins, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Microbiology
Research interests: Virus-host interactions; innate immunity to viral infections; interferon signaling pathways and effector mechanisms.
Website: Schoggins Lab
john.schoggins@utsouthwestern.edu

Michael Shiloh, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Internal Medicine (Infectious Disease) and Microbiology
Research interests: Mycobacterium tuberculosis pathogenesis; role of carbon monoxide (CO) in host-pathogen interactions; innate immune response to intracellular pathogens.
Website: Shiloh Lab
michael.shiloh@utsouthwestern.edu

Josephine Thinwa, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Internal Medicine and Microbiology
Research interests: Host-viral pathogen interaction, neurotropic viruses, autophagy and innate immunity
Website: Thinwa Lab
josephine.thinwa@utsouthwestern.edu

Nicolai S. C. van Oers, Ph.D.
Professor of Immunology and Microbiology
Research interests: Regulation of immune responses and host-pathogen interactions by microRNAs; characterization of patients with primary immunodeficiency diseases.
nicolai.vanoers@utsouthwestern.edu

Ellen S. Vitetta, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Immunology and Microbiology
Research interests: Translational immunology; profiling and targeted therapy of human tumors; development and clinical testing of vaccines.
Website: Vitetta Lab
ellen.vitetta@utsouthwestern.edu

Chien-Ting Wu, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Microbiology
Research interests: Virus-host interaction in the nasal/oral epithelium; the interaction between metabolism and immunity; virus infections-induced tumorigenesis in the upper aerodigestive tract.
Website: Wu Lab
chien-ting.wu@utsouthwestern.edu

Nan Yan, Ph.D.
Professor of Internal Medicine (Infectious Disease) and Microbiology
Research interests: Innate immune recognition of HIV and other retroviruses; innate immune sensing of self vs non-self nucleic acids; pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases such as Aicardi-Goutieres syndrome and lupus.
Website: Yan Lab
nan.yan@utsouthwestern.edu