What's New

Dr. Sellati and Dr. Welsh Receive $50,000 NY Cap Research Alliance Grant
Timothy J. Sellati, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Center for Immunology & Microbial Disease at Albany Medical College, in collaboration with JoEllen Welsh, Ph.D., Empire Innovations Professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at UAlbany, have received a grant in the amount of $50,000 from the NY Cap Research Alliance (a Capital Region Economic Development Council priority project), in support of their research entitled "Control of Inflammation-Associated Cancer by Vitamin D and CD14". 

Dr. Konan Receives $434,500 NIH Exploratory/Development Grant
Kouacou V. Konan, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Center for Immunology & Microbial Disease at Albany Medical College has received a two-year Exploratory/Development Grant in the amount of $434,500 from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in support of his research entitled "Nonstructural 4B Protein and Hepatitis C Virus Production".

CIMD Receives $10.2M Program Project Grant from NIH
The Center for Immunology & Microbial Disease at Albany Medical College has received a $10.2 million 5-year Program Project Grant from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases entitled "Immunobiology and Pathogenesis of Pulmonary Tularemia". This grant represents continued funding for years 9-13 of CIMD's current biodefense research against Francisella tularensis.   Read Press Release

CIMD faculty involved in this Program Project Grant are Drs. Dennis W. Metzger, Guangchun Bai, James R. Drake, Edmund J. Gosselin, Jonathan A. Harton, Karsten R.O. Hazlett, and Timothy J. Sellati. 

Dr. Friedrich Receives $437,389 NIH Exploratory/Development Grant
Thomas D. Friedrich, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Center for Immunology & Microbial Disease at Albany Medical College has received a two-year Exploratory/
Development Grant in the amount of $437,389 from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in support of his research entitled "The DNA Damage Response as a Therapeutic Target in BK Virus Nephropathy". David J. Conti, M.D., F.A.C.S., Director of Organ Transplantation at Albany Medical Center and Professor of Surgery at Albany Medical College, is Co-Investigator on this grant.

Dr. Drake Receives $434,500 NIH Exploratory/Development Grant
James R. Drake, Ph.D., Professor in the Center for Immunology & Microbial Disease at Albany Medical College has received a two-year Exploratory/Development Grant in the amount of $434,500 from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in support of his research entitled "Characterization of the MHC Class II Peptide Loading Complex".

Dr. Bai Receives $308,000 American Heart Association Grant
Guangchun Bai, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Center for Immunology & Microbial Disease at Albany Medical College has received a four-year Scientist Development Grant in the amount of $308,000 from the American Heart Association in support of his research entitled "Interaction Between TB Bacilli and Host via Cyclic Nucleotides".

Dr. Furuya Receives $65,000 American Lung Association Fellowship
Yoichi Furuya, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow in the Center for Immunology & Microbial Disease at Albany Medical College has received a two-year Senior Research Training Fellowship in the amount of $65,000 from the American Lung Association in support of his postdoctoral research entitled "Adaptive Anti-Influenza Virus Immune Responses in Asthmatic Mice". (Mentor: Dr. Dennis W. Metzger)

Dr. Porter Receives $152,766 NRSA Award from NIH
Kristen A. Porter, Ph.D. '10, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Center for Immunology & Microbial Disease at Albany Medical College has received a three-year Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) in the amount of $152,766 from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in support of her postdoctoral research entitled "POP2 regulation of NF-kB -dependent inflammatory responses". (Mentor: Dr. Jonathan A. Harton)

Dr. Konan Receives $392,758 Bridge Grant from NIH
Kouacou V. Konan, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Center for Immunology & Microbial Disease at Albany Medical College has received a one-year Bridge Grant from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the amount of $392,758, in support of his research entitled "Nonstructural 4B Protein and Hepatitis C Virus Replication Complex".

Dr. Hazlett Receives $3.1M Grant from the Department of Defense
Karsten R.O. Hazlett, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Center for Immunology & Microbial Disease at Albany Medical College has received a $3.1M 5.5-year grant from the U.S. Department of Defense in support of his research entitled "Protein, Lipid, Chemical and Structural Signatures of Differentially-Cultivated Francisella tularensis and Acinetobacter baumannii". This research will be performed in collaboration with the University of Maryland and the University of Chicago. 

Dr. Duus Receives $158,000 Grant from NIH
Karen M. Duus, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Center for Immunology & Microbial Disease at Albany Medical College has received a $158,000 2-year grant from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in support of her research entitled "Reagents for the Analyses of CMI in the Ferret Influenza Model". 

Dr. MacNamara Receives $65,000 Grant from the National Blood Foundation
Kate C. MacNamara, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Center for Immunology & Microbial Disease at Albany Medical College has received a $65,000 1-year grant from the National Blood Foundation, a Program of the American Association of Blood Banks, in support of her research entitled "IFNγ-Mediated Control of Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cell Differentiation". 

Dr. Bai Receives $24,000 Grant from The Potts Memorial Foundation
Guangchun Bai, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Center for Immunology & Microbial Disease at Albany Medical College has received a grant from The Potts Memorial Foundation in the amount of $24,000 to support six months of his research entitled "Biological Roles of c-di-AMP and c-di-GMP in Mycobacterium Tuberculosis ". (Mentor:  Dennis W. Metzger, Ph.D.)

Dr. Sun Receives $100,000 ASPIRE Young Investigator Award
Keer Sun, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Center for Immunology & Microbial Disease at Albany Medical College has received Pfizer's 2010 ASPIRE Young Investigator Award in Antibacterial Research in the amount of $100,000 to support one year of her research entitled "The Potential Benefit of Linezolid in Host Defense Against Post-Influenza Bacterial Pneumonia".  (Mentor:  Dennis W. Metzger, Ph.D.)

Dr. Metzger Receives $4.6 million in New Funding from NIH
Dennis W. Metzger, Ph.D., Professor, Theobald Smith Alumni Chair and Director, Center for Immunology & Microbial Disease at Albany Medical College has received two new grants from NIH.  These include a $2.6 million 5-year grant from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders in support of his research entitled "Otitis Media-Associated Pneumococcal Genes, a $1.6 million 4-year grant (years 1-2 are funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in support of his research entitled "Effect of Influenza Infection on Alveolar Macrophage Function", and a $400,000 2-year American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Supplement Grant to his existing research grant entitled "Regulation of B Cell Function by Interleukin 12".