Our research has a global impact.
By investigating how different microbes cause disease, scientists in this research group strive to create new knowledge and apply it to scientific advances across patient care, academia and private industries. Breakthroughs include shedding light on common vector-borne illnesses and developing vaccines for Lyme and other arthropod diseases.
Major areas of study within this research group include:
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- Arthropod-borne diseases
- Bacterial vaccine development and diagnostics
- Host-pathogen interactions and molecular pathogenesis
- Human microbiome science and microbial genomics
Partners and Collaborators
We are proud to work with centers, institutes and other interdisciplinary collaborations across VCU to train the next generation of scientists and make discoveries that will improve patient outcomes.
Labs and Facilities
As members of the broader VCU research community, students, faculty and trainees in the department have access to state-of-the-art facilities across the MCV Campus.
Faculty
Explore faculty research interests and recent publications by clicking the photos below.
Gregory A. Buck, Ph.D.
Professor
Gregory A. Buck, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Department of Computer Science
Director, Center for Microbiome Engineering & Data Analysis
Research Interests
• Human microbiome and its impact on health
• Obstetric and gynecologic health
• Molecular parasitology
• Microbial pathogenesis
• Viral genomics and evolution
Email: gregory.buck@vcuhealth.org
Jason A. Carlyon, Ph.D.
Professor
Jason A. Carlyon, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Twitter: @CarlyonLab
Research Interests
• Host-intracellular bacterial pathogen interactions
• Molecular pathogenesis of granulocytic anaplasmosis
• Molecular pathogenesis of scrub typhus
• Vaccine development for arthropod-transmitted infections
Email: jason.carlyon@vcuhealth.org
Phillip Hylemon, Ph.D.
Professor
Phillip Hylemon, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests
• Gut microbiome’s role in health and disease
• Bile acid metabolism by gut bacteria
• Bile acid-activated cell signaling pathways and liver disease
• Clostridium difficile, endogenous antibiotics and secondary bile acids
Email: phillip.hylemon@vcuhealth.org
Kimberly Jefferson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Kimberly Jefferson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Graduate Program Director of Admissions
Research Interests
• Infectious causes of preterm birth
• Bacterial virulence factors
• Pore-forming toxin in bacteria associated with vaginosis, preterm birth and pregnancy complications
Email: kimberly.jefferson@vcuhealth.org
Eun Lee, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Eun Lee, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests
• Immunological consequences of pregnancy-related diseases (preeclampsia, IUGR, preterm birth and spontaneous miscarriage)
• Functional roles of ERAP2 in peptide processing and presentation to immune cells
• Targeting ERAP2 to develop translational cancer therapy
Email: eun.lee@vcuhealth.org
Masoud H. Manjili, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Professor
Masoud H. Manjili, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests
• Immunotherapeutic targeting of cancer dormancy
• Hepatic immunological patterns associated with fatty liver disease and liver cancer
• The adaptation model of immunity
Email: masoud.manjili@vcuhealth.org
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Richard T Marconi, Ph.D.
Professor
Richard T Marconi, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests
• Lyme and tick-borne diseases
• Bacterial vaccine and diagnostic assay development
• Protein structure function and its relationship to virulence
• Genetic regulatory mechanisms of pathogenic spirochetes
• Molecular pathogenesis of periodontal disease
Email: richard.marconi@vcuhealth.org
Rebecca K. Martin, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Rebecca K. Martin, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Director, Flow Cytometry Shared Resource, Massey Cancer Center
Scientific Director, VCU Post-baccalaureate Research and Education Program
Email: rebecca.martin@vcuhealth.org
Daniel P. Miller, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Daniel P. Miller, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Philips Institute for Oral Health Research
Research Interests
• Host-pathogen interactions
• Polymicrobial interactions in subgingival biofilms that promote periodontal disease
• Signaling events that promote growth of oral bacteria
Email: daniel.miller@vcuhealth.org
Myrna G. Serrano, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Myrna G. Serrano, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests
• Impact of the vaginal microbiome on women’s health and pregnancy
• Microbial genome biology
• Integrative genomics, bioinformatics and kinetoplast evolution
Email: myrna.serrano@vcuhealth.org
Lisa S. Shock, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Lisa S. Shock, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Graduate Program Director
Research Interests:
• Epigenetics
• Mitochondria and cell metabolism
• Cancer biology
Email: lisa.shock@vcuhealth.org
Huiping Zhou, Ph.D., AGAF, FAASLD
Professor and Interim Chair
Huiping Zhou, Ph.D., AGAF, FAASLD
Professor and Interim Chair
Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests
• Bile acids and sphingolipids in liver diseases
• Long noncoding RNA H19 in cholestatic liver disease
• Circular RNA in NAFLD and cholestatic liver disease
• Bile acids and sphingolipid in NASH-HCC and cholangiocarcinoma
Email: huiping.zhou@vcuhealth.org