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Seminar Series

The Department of Microbial Pathogens and Immunity holds regular seminars with invited speakers from outside the institution, as well as researchers from RUSH University.

2024-2025 academic year seminars schedule

Seminars are held in Cohn Research Building Auditorium Room 160 (1735 W. Harrison St., Chicago, IL 60612), unless noted otherwise.

Date and TimeSpeakerTitle/Topic
September 18, 2024
Wednesday, 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Rebecca Pompano, PhD
Associate Professor, Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering
University of Virginia

(Host: Edward Barker, PhD)

“Lymphoid tissue models”
September 25, 2024
Wednesday, 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Chu Chen, PhD
Professor, Cellular and Integrative Physiology
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

(Host: Xiu-Ti Hu, MD, PhD)

“Alzheimer's disease”
October 2, 2024
Wednesday, 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Mary Duckett, MA, CHES
Rush University The Center for Clinical Wellness

(Host: Edward Barker, PhD)

“How to manage uncertainty”
October 9, 2024
Wednesday, 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Jonathan Karn, PhD
Professor and Chair, Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, School of Medicine
Case Western Reserve University

(Host: Ryan Ross, PhD)

“HIV viral reservoirs”
October 16, 2024
Wednesday, 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Brian Cobb, PhD
Michael E. Lamm Professor, Department of Pathology, School of Medicine
Case Western Reserve University

(Host: Jeff Schneider, PhD)

“Antibody effector function and tissue resident macrophages”
October 23, 2024
Wednesday, 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Ashwanth Francis, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Science
Florida State University

(Host: João Mamede, PhD)

“Nuclear trafficking of HIV”
October 30, 2024
Wednesday, 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Sumit Chanda, PhD
Professor, Department of Immunology and Microbiology
The Scripps Research Institute

(Host: João Mamede, PhD)

“Virus-host interface and innate immunity”
November 13, 2024
Wednesday, 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Oliver Fregoso, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics
University of California Los Angeles

(Host: Charia McKee)

“HIV-1 VpR”
November 20, 2024
Wednesday, 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Jesse Williams, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Integrative Biology & Physiology
University of Minnesota

(Host: Jeff Schneider, PhD)

“Macrophages”
December 4, 2024
Wednesday, 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Irini Sereti MD, MHS
Chief, HIV Pathogenesis Section in the Laboratory of Immunoregulation
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

(Host: Lena Al-Harthi, PhD)

“COVID”
December 11, 2024
Wednesday, 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Rong Tian, MD, PhD
Professor of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, and Bioengineering Adjunct Professor, Biochemistry and Pathology
University of Washington School of Medicine
Director of Mitochondria and Metabolism Center
UW Medicine
Seattle, WA

(Host: Jennillee Wallace, PhD)

“Mitochondria meet inflammation in heart disease”
January 8, 2025
Wednesday, 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Emily Mace, PhD
Associate Professor of Pediatric Immunology (in Pediatrics)
Columbia University

(Host: Edward Barker, PhD)

“NK cell biology”
January 22, 2025
Wednesday, 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Peng Jiang, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Cell Biology & Neuroscience
Rutgers University

(Host: Jennillee Wallace, PhD)

“Human-mouse brain chimera”
January 29, 2025
Wednesday, 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Paolo Casali, MD
UT Ashbel Smith Professor and Distinguished Research Professor
Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics
Department of Medicine
UT Health San Antonio

(Host: Jennillee Wallace, PhD)

“Humanized mouse - human immune system”
February 5, 2025
Wednesday, 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Tory Johnson, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

(Host: Jeff Schneider, PhD)

“CNS Auto-antibodies and COVID”
February 12, 2025
Wednesday, 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Angela Wahl, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology
The University of Alabama at Birmingham

(Host: Lena Al-Harthi, PhD)

“HIV latency”

Please contact the department at (312) 942-6383 or our seminar coordinator, Edward Barker, PhD, for additional information.