We are thrilled to extend our warmest congratulations to the thematic program directors and faculty hires of the Infectious Diseases Institute on the remarkable array of awards and grants they have received this year. Their outstanding achievements and unwavering dedication to combatting infectious diseases have garnered well-deserved recognition, solidifying their position as leaders in the field.
The challenges posed by infectious diseases are formidable, requiring groundbreaking research, innovative solutions, and collaborative efforts. Their collective expertise and tireless pursuit of excellence have not only advanced our understanding of infectious diseases but also yielded tangible outcomes that positively impact public health. The awards and grants they have received serve as a resounding validation of their remarkable contributions.
Please help us in congratulating our thematic program directors and faculty hires!
Thematic Program Directors
Ecology, Epidemiology and Population Health
JIYOUNG LEE, PHD
Professor, Division of Environmental Health Sciences
Innovator of the Year from CFAES
Graduate Advisor of the Year from the Environmental Science Graduate Program
MARK WEIR, PHD
Assistant Professor, Division of Environmental Health Sciences
US EPA: Winning the Race Against Competing Risks: Optimizing Drinking Water Disinfection to Minimize Opportunistic Pathogen & DBP Risk.
The total project is $2 million for 4 years
The project is co-led by Dr. Mark Weir and Dr. Jade Mitchell
Premise: In the search to reduce risks from Legionella pneumophila (L. pneumophila), we are increasing the risks of cancer and other outcomes from disinfection byproducts (DBPs). This project is established to develop the following: 1) a nationally representative database of co-exposure to opportunistic pathogens - L. pneumophila, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Mycobacterium avium complex, 2) a nationally representative database of both Trihalomethane and Haloacetic acid DBPs, 3) assess the combined risks from both the pathogenic and chemical hazards, and 4) develop a machine learning algorithm to intelligently assess best intervention options to balance the infectious disease risks with the cancer risks.
Microbial Communities
MATT SULLIVAN, PHD
Professor, Department of Microbiology
Awards in 2022
Appointed College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Professor (endowed)
Appointed Applied Microbiology International Fellow and Global Ambassador
Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher (<7000 researchers worldwide across 21 fields, top 0.1%)
Award in 2023
OSU Distinguished Scholar Award (one of OSU’s top awards for research, teaching and mentoring)
Viruses and Emerging Pathogens
JACOB YOUNT, PHD
Associate Professor, Department of Microbial Infection & Immunity
Jacob Yount has been awarded the International Cytokine and Interferon Society 2023 Mentorship Award “in recognition of his significant contributions to the field of interferon and viral immunity research through not only his own seminal discoveries and scientific accomplishment, but also his ardent sponsorship and relentless championship of the junior faculty he has helped in the establishment and success of their own independent research programs.”
Nominators included Dr. Adriana Forero (OSU), Dr. Emily Hemann (OSU), Dr. Namal Liyanage (OSU), Dr. Tamar Gur (OSU), Dr. Adrienne Antonson (U Illinois), Dr. Alex Compton (NIH), and past students (Dr. Nicholas Chesarino, Dr. Temet McMichael, Dr. Adam Kenney, and Nahara Vargas-Maldonado). The Awards Presentation will take place during Cytokines 2023: 11th Annual Meeting of the International Cytokine & Interferon Society in Athens, Greece, on Sunday, October 15, 2023.
New NIH Grants:
R01HL168501, Mechanisms of lung and cardiac pathology in SARS-CoV-2 infections, PIs: Jacob Yount & Amal Amer, ~$3 million total award
R01HL157215, Protein therapy to treat virus induced cardiopulmonary injury, PIs, Jacob Yount, Jianjie Ma, Chuanxi Cai, ~$3 million total award
Faculty Hires
MATTHEW ANDERSON, PHD
Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology
Received this honor:
College of Education and Human Ecology Native American Heritage Month EDGE Bookshelf feature, November 2022
Received the following grants:
S06GM146079 (PI: Henderson)
09/01/2022 – 08/31-2027
National Institutes of Health
$815,367 (total)
Strengthening COVID-19 prevention strategies via wastewater surveillance in a Northern Plains Tribe
Science Diversity Leadership Award (PI:Anderson)
12/01/2022 – 11/30/2027
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
$1,150,000 (total)
Defining the microbial eukaryote contributions to rheumatoid arthritis in American Indians
KOU-SAN JU, PHD
Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology
Co-PI on a new industry-funded grant on mushroom genetics and metabolomics with Jason Slot in Plant Pathology.
Inner State
Industry sponsored
01/01/2023 – 01/01/2024
Psilocybin Mushroom Genetics and Novel Extracts
Slot (Co-PI), Ju (Co-PI)
$377,108
This is the start of a larger multidisciplinary effort between Alan Davis, Jason Slot, and Kou-San to develop medicinal fungi (mushrooms) as therapeutics for neurological disorders and others (potentially cancer, etc.).
SANGGU KIM, PHD
Assistant Professor, Department of Veterinary Biosciences
DOD award information:
DOD Peer reviewed cancer research (PRCRP) IDEA Award
September 2023 - August 2025
Title: Targeted Antibody and Immunotoxin Combination Improves T-Cell Lymphoma Therapy
The aim of this study is to identify and elucidate novel treatment resistance mechanisms against T-cell targeting immunotoxin therapies for treating T-cell lymphomas. We propose a therapeutic innovation to overcome these hurdles. The new resistance mechanisms and treatment strategies will have broader applications, including for infectious diseases or organ/cell transplant requiring T-cell specific immunotherapy, utilizing immunotoxins, antibodies, and antibody-drug conjugates.
Ethan Morgan, PhD
Assistant Professor, College of Nursing
Received a two-year $172,776 R03 grant funded by the NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The study, “Improving sexual minority health: differences in substance use, substance use treatment, and associated chronic diseases among Rural vs. Urban populations,” aims to further research on differences between populations in terms of use and success of substance abuse treatment programs. Rural environments suffer from a lack of treatment options and an increased burden of substance use disorders.
“The broad goals of this project are not only to reduce the burden of substance use on rural communities but to also identify and eliminate health disparities between urban and rural sexual minorities,” Morgan said about the project.
Sarah Short, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology
Awarded in December of last year
The effect of the microbiota on male Aedes aegypti life history traits.
National Institutes of Health. R21 Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Award.
Amount: $433,124
PI: Short, Sarah
This project will investigate how different bacteria impact key life history traits in male disease vector mosquitos including longevity, body size, and mating competitiveness. These findings could lead to identification of microbes or microbial metabolites that could be used to enhance male mosquitoes reared for the purposes of mosquito population control.