Immunity to Infections

BIOGRAPHY

CURRENT POSITION:
Alan Sher is currently Head of the Immmunobiology Section, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD, USA.

RESEARCH INTERESTS:
His research group focuses on the regulation of host immune responses to parasitic and bacterial pathogens, and, in particular, the role of TH1/TH2 effector choice in determining the outcome of infection. A current emphasis is the study of the role played by dendritic cells (DCs) in the initiation of antimicrobial immune responses and the regulation of DC function during infection.

Notable accomplishments in recent years include the demonstration of IL-12 and IL-4 independent pathways for Th1 and Th2 differentiation in parasitic infection, the discovery of TLR and chemokine signaling pathways involved in the activation of DC by Toxoplasma gondii, the identification of a parasite-derived chemokine ligand which stimulates IL-12 production and acts as a co-receptor antagonist for HIV infection, and the assignment of critical functions for two interferon-induced GTPases in host resistance to intracellular protozoan and bacterial infections. In additional studies we have established effector and regulatory functions for bacterial-specific T cells in a model of Helicobacter-induced colitis and evaluated the role of TLR signaling in host resistance to Mycobacterium avium and Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

AWARDS:
• Research Career Development Award in Geographic Medicine (The Rockefeller Foundation)
• Bailey K Ashford Medal (The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene)

MEMBERSHIPS:
• American Academy of Microbiology
• American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
• American Association of Immunologists

EDITORIAL BOARDS:
• Microbes and Infection, Parasite Immunology
• Parasitology
• The Journal of Experimental Medicine, Nature Reviews in Immunology