The immune system is responsible for protecting the body against infections. However, there is a growing awareness that immunity, through inflammation, also plays a role in development of chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer.
Professors in the Immunology and Infection Disease Group work on research regarding all aspects of immunity and infectious diseases.
Similarly, microorganisms are involved in infections, but the normal components of our "microbiota" (the microbial species always present on and within our bodies such as the commensals in the intestines) also contribute to health, because they are needed for normal development of immune responses and they have a large effect on chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity.
The broad interests of faculty members in this group also intersect with themes in other research emphasis tracks within MCB as well as the Health Science Research Institute (HSRI).
If you are interested in pursuing Ph.D. or M.S. in Immunology and Infectious Disease research at UC Merced, please contact us. We are currently accepting graduate students through the QSB Graduate Program.
Professor Miriam Barlow
Our research focuses on the evolution of antimicrobial resistance. Our lab is investigating several approaches to combat the threat of resistance.
Email: mbarlow@ucmerced.edu
Professor Juris Grasis
Our lab focuses on understanding antiviral immunity and interactions with viral particles using multi-omic analyses and computational biology.
Email: jagrasis@ucmerced.edu
Professor Aaron Hernday
Epigenetic and transcriptional networks and metabolic engineering of yeasts
Lab website
Email: ahernday@ucmerced.edu
Professor Katrina Hoyer
Immune dysfunction mechanisms leading to disease. We focus on autoimmune disease and host immunity to Coccidioides.
Email: khoyer2@ucmerced.edu
Professor Kirk Jensen
Toxoplasma gondii and host-immune responses, vaccine development, parasite pathogenesis
Email: kjensen5@ucmerced.edu
Professor Patricia LiWang
We study protein biochemistry, with a focus on protein-protein interactions that are involved in virus inhibition and in combatting inflammation.
Email: pliwang@ucmerced.edu
Professor Jennifer Manilay
The Manilay Laboratory investigates development of mouse hematopoietic and immune system cells in genetically-altered and chemical-exposed bone marrow microenvironments.
Email: jmanilay@ucmerced.edu
Professor Michele Nishiguchi
Understanding the evolution of animal and bacterial associations has been an underlying theme in establishing the development and specificity of symbiotic relationships.
Email: nish@ucmerced.edu
Professor Clarissa Nobile
Research in the Nobile lab is directed towards understanding the molecular and mechanistic bases of microbial communities.
Email: cnobile@ucmerced.edu
