Pacific Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases Research
John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai'i at Manoa
Director: Dr. Richard Yanagihara

COLLABORATORS

By the very nature of the complexities surrounding the emergence and transmission of microbial agents, the ecology of their vectors and the human behaviors that contribute to acquisition and spread of infection, the study of emerging infectious diseases demands a trans-disciplinary approach. To accelerate the development of the new Center and to ensure the successful execution of the research projects, collaborators and a consultant with specific expertise have been selected. Apart from their role as collaborator or consultant on a specific project, these individuals will serve as additional mentors for the COBRE Investigators.

Francis A. Ennis, M.D.
Dr. Ennis is the Director of the Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research, and Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, in Worchester, Massachusetts. He is among the most well-known experts on T cell-triggered and cytokine-mediated immunopathology, particularly as they relate to viral diseases, such as dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). His work, with Dr. Alan Rothman, on virus-specific T cell-mediated immunity in DHF patients in Thailand has provided enormous insights into the immunopathogenesis of this devastating disease. He and Dr. Rothman will serve as COBRE Collaborators for Dr. Allison Imrie's project.

 

 

 

Edward L. Kaplan, M.D.
Dr. Kaplan is a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is one of the foremost researchers and educators on group A streptococci (GAS), and serves as the Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Streptococci. For the past three years, he has mentored and collaborated with Dr. Guliz Erdem on the molecular epidemiology of GAS in Hawai‘i. He will continue in this capacity and will provide Dr. Erdem with additional intensive training in the epidemiology and microbiology of GAS, in an effort to accelerate the transfer of knowledge and technology to UHM.

 

 

Duane J. Gubler, Sc.D.
Dr. Gubler is Director of the newly established Asia-Pacific Institute of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, within the John A. Burns School of Medicine. Just before joining UHM, Dr. Gubler served as the Director of the Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, in the National Center for Infectious Diseases, at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in Fort Collins, Colorado. Prior to that, he was Chief of the Dengue Branch in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Dr. Gubler is an internationally recognized expert on the ecology of dengue virus and other arboviruses. His research accomplishments are legion, and include co-development of the mosquito inoculation and immunofluorescent techniques, which allowed for the first time, routine virologic confirmation of clinically diagnosed dengue cases. Dr. Gubler also pioneered the field of mosquito vector competence and was the first to show that geographic variation in susceptibility to dengue viruses occurred among strains of both Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus. Dr. Gubler has been responsible for coordinating major emergency responses to epidemics of vector-borne diseases, including the 1994 plague epidemic in India and the 1999 West Nile virus epidemic in the northeastern United States. Ministries of Health of many countries in Asia, and Central and South America, as well as health departments throughout the Pacific and the Caribbean basin, have relied on his encyclopedic knowledge about all aspects of dengue virus infection. He has also been a tireless advocate for developing training programs in tropical medicine. As a former graduate student and faculty member at UHM, Dr. Gubler well recognizes the challenges and vast opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region. As a COBRE Collaborator, Dr. Gubler provides Dr. Allison Imrie with access to a large repository of dengue virus strains under his purview.

Alan Rothman, M.D.
Dr. Rothman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine, at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, in Worchester, Massachusetts. He has conducted research on cell-mediated responses to dengue virus in southeast Asia and South America. As a COBRE Collaborator, he will provide Dr. Allison Imrie with vaccinia constructs expressing specific dengue virus epitopes, as well as additional training in molecular immunology.

 

 

 

Longfu Xi, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Xi is an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Pathology, at the University of Washington School of Medicine, in Seattle, Washington. He is an expert in the molecular epidemiology of HPV variants. He will serve as a consultant on Dr. Brenda Hernandez’s project, and will provide initial training on PCR-based direct DNA sequencing for specific HPV variants and ongoing assistance throughout the study, including the analysis and interpretation of HPV sequences.