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NIH Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Training Program

PROGRAM:

An interdisciplinary biodefense and emerging infectious diseases training program for both predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows has been established at the Wadsworth Center in collaboration with the New York State Department of Health's Division of Epidemiology and with the State University at Albany's Departments of Biomedical Sciences, Epidemiology and Biostatistics. This program, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), is intended to prepare the next generation of scientists who will develop integrated research programs in biodefense preparedness and response to infectious threats.

Fellows will receive broad training in bioterrorist agents, emerging infectious disease, and epidemiology. Trainees will learn about clinically relevant laboratory pathogens by participating in lab rotations and seminars and taking advantage of opportunities to conduct basic and applied research on biodefense agents. They may also participate in field research on the ecology and epidemiology of the NIAID priority pathogens, work directly on epidemiologic investigations, and receive training in biocontainment and the latest diagnostic methods. Fellows will pursue research in funded laboratories (see Training Faculty/Research Interests below). The Wadsworth Center has several state of the art high containment laboratories (BLS3) including an insectary and small animal space. In addition, Core facilities are available to facilitate research.

Related Links

• Best Places to Work for Postdocs The Scientist, 2005
• Best Places to Work in Academia The Scientist, 2004

PROGRAM DIRECTORS:

The director of the training program, Kathleen McDonough, Ph.D., is Assistant Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Wadsworth Center and an Associate Professor of Immunology and Infectious Disease, Biomedical Sciences, School of Public Health, University at Albany, State University of New York. Co-director Marlene Belfort, Ph.D., a member of the National Academy of Sciences, is a Distinguished Scientist at the Wadsworth Center and a Distinguished Professor of Molecular Genetics, Biomedical Sciences, School of Public Health, University at Albany, State University of New York.

TRAINING FACULTY/RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Marlene Belfort, Ph.D. - Dynamics of introns and inteins in bacterial pathogens
• Kristen Bernard, Ph.D., DVM - Pathogenesis of arboviruses
• April Burch, Ph.D. - Virus assembly and the Host-Pathogen interface
• Jan Conn, Ph.D. - Evolutionary and population genetics, ecology, natural history of mosquito vectors of viral and protozoan pathogens
• Keith Derbyshire, Ph.D. - Molecular genetics and genomics of mycobacteria, virulence, mobile DNA, drug design
• Xinxin Ding, Ph.D. - Mechanisms of antibiotic resistance
• Joachim Jaeger, Ph.D. - Structure-Function Relationships of DNA and RNA polymerases
• Laura Kramer, Ph.D. - Host-vector-virus interrelationships, viral evolution with a focus on Category B viral encephalides
• David Lawrence, Ph.D. - Analysis of host response to bacterial pathogens including cytokine and chemokine profiles
• Nicholas Mantis, Ph.D. - Mucosal immunity to ricin and Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B
• Paul Masters, Ph.D. - Reverse genetics, RNA synthesis, and pathogenesis of coronaviruses, including SARS coronavirus
• Kathleen McDonough, Ph.D. - TB and plague virulence gene regulation and pathogenesis
• Dale Morse, MD. - Epidemiology, emerging infections
• Janice Pata, Ph.D. - Mutagenic effects of lesion-bypass DNA polymerases
• Joseph Wade, Ph.D. - Regulation of Gene Expression in Bacteria
• David Wentworth, Ph.D. - Molecular determinants of interspecies transmission and pathogenesis of influenza and corona viruses
• Gary Winslow, Ph.D. - Host immune responses to bacterial pathogens in animal models

Additional Information

• Pre- and Post-Doctoral Fellowship Opportunities