GI Microbiota and Regulation of the Immune System

Gary B. Huffnagle, PhD, is a Professor of Internal Medicine (Pulmonary Diseases) and Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Michigan Medical School. He holds a BS in microbiology from Pennsylvania State University and a PhD in immunology from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. In addition to conducting research, he teaches undergraduate and graduate classes in eukaryotic microbiology, microbial symbiosis and experimental immunology at the University of Michigan. Dr. Huffnagles research focuses on the regulation of pulmonary immunity to infectious agents and allergens. In the past 5 years, his attention has turned to the role of the indigenous microbiota in immune system functioning, as well as the role of probiotics in animal and human health. He has been awarded research grants from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHL BI), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the Francis Families Foundation and the Burroughs-Wellcome Fund. Dr. Huffnagle serves or has served on editorial boards for the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) and the American Association of Immunologists (AAI), as well as on advisory and review panels for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Mairi C. Nove rr, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Immunology and Microbiology at Wayne State University Medical School. She earned a BA in biology from Kalamazoo College in 1996 and a PhD in microbiology and immunology from the University of Michigan in 2002. Dr. Noverrs current research focuses on investigating mechanisms of immunomodulation by the opportunistic yeast Candida albicans during host-pathogen interactions and how interactions with other members of the microbiota influence these interactions. Her laboratory is investigating signaling compounds called oxylipins that are produced by both Candida and the host, which can influence the microbiology of the fungus and the activity of host immune system cells. Projects in the laboratory include molecular characterization of the fungal oxylipin biosynthetic pathways and determining the effects of oxylipins during Candida pathogenesis, in modulating host immune cell function, and during fungal-bacterial interactions. She has been awarded research funding from the Francis Families Foundation.