Department of Microbiology and Immunology Chairs and Faculty they recruited 1920 – 1927 – Dr. Virgil Moon
1927-1934 – Co-Chairs – Dr. Thurman B. Rice and Dr. Frank Forry 1935 – 1947 Thurman B. Rice – Indiana University School of Medicine
Dr. Frank Forry – Indiana University School of Medicine Mr. Harold Raidt – University of Kentucky
Dr. Lyle Weed Dr. Donald White
1947 – 1953 Dr. Randall L. Thompson
Dr. Hugh Headlee – Clinical Pathology – Indiana University School of Medicine Dr. Sherman Minton – Indiana University School of Medicine
Dr. Edward Shrigley – Wisconsin University and Yale University Dr. William Summers – Tulane University
1953 - 1973 Dr. Edward Shrigley
Dr. D.C. Bauer – Michigan State University
Dr. Richard Bockrath – Pennsylvania State University Dr. Martin Dworkin
Dr. William Finnerty
Dr. Joseph Ingraham – University of Chicago Dr. Alvin Levine
Dr. Ann Mathysee
Dr. Donald Niederpruem – University of Buffalo, New York Dr. Donald Sutton
Dr. Warner Wegener - University of Cincinnati
1973 – 1980 Dr. William Sawyer - Johns Hopkins University Dr. Lloyd Olsen
Dr. Ronald Watson
Dr. Ann Roman – University of California, San Diego Dr. Robert Schloemer – University of Virginia
Dr. Raoul Rosenthal – North Texas State University
Dr. Charles Wilde III – University of California at Berkeley Dr. Steven Larsen – University of Wisconsin
Dr. Richard Haak – University of Southern Illinois
1981 – 1996 Dr. Dietrich (Jack) C. Bauer – Michigan State University Dr. Janice S. Blum – Duke University
Dr. Michael Klemsz – University of Colorado Health Sciences Center Dr. Byoung Kwon – Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia Dr. John Slack – Scripps Institute
1997- 2010 – *Dr. Hal E. Broxmeyer – New York University Dr. Ghalib Alkhatib – McGill University, Montreal, Quebec
Dr. Randy Brutkiewicz – University of Massachusetts Medical Center Dr. Cheong Hee Chang – University of Virginia
Dr. Tie Chen – Jiangxi Medical College; Rockefeller University Dr. Alex Dent – University of California, San Diego
Dr. Wilbert Derbigny – Louisiana State University
Dr. David Donner – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY Dr. Xin-Yuan Fu – Columbia University, New York
Dr. Johnny He – New York University
Dr. Soon-Cheol Hong – University of Virginia
Dr. Mark Kaplan – Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan Dr. Li Lu – Shanghai First Medical College, Shanghai, China Dr. Lou Pelus – Rutgers University
Dr. Martin L. Smith – Emory University
Dr. Arun Srivastava – Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
Dr. Gotz von Bulow – University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa Dr. Frank Yang – University of Texas Southwestern
Dr. Andy Yu – Fourth Military Medical University, Xian, Shaanxi, China; University of Hawaii
Scientist-Track Faculty
Dr. Sunanda Basu – Banaras Hindu University, India Dr. Stephen Braun – University of Minnesota
Dr. Hee-Don Chae – Pohang University of Science and Technology, Korea Dr. Young-June Kim – University of Georgia
Dr. Wei Li – University of Minnesota Dr. Ying Liu – New York University
Dr. In Woo Park – Louisiana State University Dr. Wen Tao – University of California
Dr. Dalai Yan - University of California at Berkeley Lecturer
Dr. Susan Karimi – Indiana University School of Medicine 2010 – present – Dr. Stanley M. Spinola – Georgetown University
Dr. Jie Sun – University of Virginia
Dr. Henrique Serezani – University of Michigan Dr. Gustavo Arrizabalaga – University of Idaho
Dr. Stacey Gilk – University of Vermont; Rocky Mountain Laboratories Dr. David Nelson – University of North Dakota School of Medicine Dr. Haitao Guo – Drexel University College of Medicine
Lecturer
Dr. Gotz von Bulow - University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Current Faculty 2014 Primary Faculty
Stanley M. Spinola, M.D. – Professor and Chair Margaret E. Bauer, Ph.D. – Associate Professor Janice S. Blum, Ph.D. – Chancellor’s Professor Hal E. Broxmeyer, Ph.D. – Distinguished Professor Randy R. Brutkiewicz, Ph.D. – Professor
Alexander L. Dent, Ph.D. – Associate Professor Wilbert A. Derbigny, Jr., Ph.D. – Assistant Professor Stacey Gilk, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor
Michael J. Klemsz, Ph.D. – Associate Professor David Nelson, Ph.D. – Associate Professor Louis Pelus, Ph.D. – Professor
Henrique Serezani, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor Frank Yang, Ph.D. – Associate Professor Andy Yu, M.D., Ph.D. – Assistant Professor Lecturer
Götz von Bülow, Ph.D. – Lecturer Secondary Faculty
Elliot Androphy, M.D. – Professor and Chair-Dermatology Gustavo Arrizabalaga, Ph.D. - Associate Professor
Byron E. Batteiger, M.D. – Professor Darron R. Brown, M.D. – Professor Wade D. Clapp, M.D. – Professor
Matthias Clauss, Ph.D. – Associate Research Professor Kenneth G. Cornetta, M.D. – Professor
Kenneth H. Fife, M.D., Ph.D. – Professor Thomas A. Gardner, M.D. – Professor Laura Haneline, M.D. – Professor
Mircea Ivan, M.D., Ph.D. – Assistant Professor
Meei-Huey Jeng, Ph.D. – Associate Research Professor Raymond M. Johnson, MD, Ph.D. – Associate Professor Chinghai Kao, Ph.D. – Associate Professor
Mark H. Kaplan, Ph.D. – Professor Reuben Kapur, Ph.D. – Professor
Sophie Paczesny, MD, PhD – Associate Professor Edward F. Srour, Ph.D. – Professor
William Sullivan, Ph.D. – Associate Professor Jie Sun, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor
David S. Wilkes, M.D. – Professor
Baohou Zhou, Ph.D. – Associate Professor
A HISTORICAL OUTLINE OF
THE DEPARTMENT OF MICROBIOLOGY AND IMMUNOLOGY INDIANA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
The concept of contagium vivum can be traced in European medical literature to the mid sixteenth century. However, it remained for Robert Koch in 1878 to provide rigorous proof for the microbial origin of infections. This was quickly followed by the monumental work of Pasteur in 1880 establishing the basis of immunization. Thus, the first golden age of both bacteriology and immunology was ushered in and courses in European and American medical schools proliferated rapidly and were taught, for the most part, by students training Europe under the influence of Koch and Pasteur.
The first course in bacteriology offered to medical students in Indiana was during the 1890-91 year at the Indiana Medical College in Indianapolis, a school with only a nominal association with Indiana University. The instructor was Theodore Potter, M.D., who evidently obtained his bacteriologic training in Germany. The Indiana University School of Medicine was organized at Bloomington in 1903. An early attempt to merge with the Indiana Medical College· was unacceptable to the latter which insisted that the entire program be taught in Indianapolis. Professor Robert E. Lyons was the first professor of bacteriology on the Bloomington campus. Both lecture and laboratory were taught in Wylie Hall. By 1911 only the freshman year was offered on the Bloomington campus, the remaining years at Indianapolis. The bacteriology courses were taught in the pathology department, relocated in Indianapolis, with Dr. H.K. Langdon as Assistant Professor of Bacteriology. A service laboratory for the physicians of Indiana moved from Bloomington to Indianapolis and emphasized the examination of materials for tubercle bacilli, gonococci, meningococci, and malarial parasites as well as performing the Widal test for typhoid fever. Dr. Virgil Moon became head of the Department of Pathology and Bacteriology in 1915 and apparently taught both pathology and bacteriology with a staff of three.
In 1920 Thurman B. Rice and Frank Forry joined the department as medical student assistants. They were to have a profound influence on th e disciplines of pathology and bacteriology in the three decades to come. Following their graduation both became Department faculty members. Under the influence of Dr. Hurty, Chair of the Department of Medicine, Dr. Rice developed an interest in public health and social concerns. A course in public health and preventive medicine was established in 1922 and made a requirement for junior medical students. In 1927 Dr.
Moon retired as departmental Chair and through 1934 there was no officially designated Chair, although Drs. Rice and Forry evidently served in this capacity. In 1932 the Central Interdepartmental Laboratory was established with Dr. Clyde Culbertson as director, Dr. Edith Haynes as bacteriologist and Dr. Luis Mazzini as serologist. This laboratory performed all tests for the university hospitals and was also used for teaching of medical students and house staff. In 1933 Dr. Donald White and Mr. Harold Raidt joined the faculty. In 1935, Dr. Rice was officially designated department Chair.
The independence of the current department can be traced to 1938 when the Department of Bacteriology and Public Health was established with Dr. Rice as Chair. Dr. Forry was now the Chair of the Department of Pathology. Joining Dr. Rice on the faculty of the new department were Dr. White as assistant professor and Mr. Raidt as instructor. Close association with the pathology department remained, particularly in the teaching of medical students.
The textbook in use by medical students at this time was Rice's Textbook of Bacteriology whose first edition was published in 1935. It was a short, comparatively simple text designed for the medical student and physician in what was known as General Practice. Emphasis was on identification of pathogenic bacteria in a clinical setting, disinfection and sterilization, immunization and other public health measures. Viruses received little attention and fungi and parasites virtually none.
Dr. Rice had a legendary temper but his rage would evaporate quickly. He lectured in a chatty anecdotal style. Dr. Rice showed deep and genuine concern for students and associates, particularly during the war years when many were leaving for combat zones. He knew most of the students by name and was nearly always sympathetic with their problems.
Research was not a strong point of the department at this time. Teaching medical students and service functions were the focus of faculty activity. Cultures from autopsies were regularly examined in the department and special procedures not available in the clinical laboratory were occasionally carried out. Publications dealt mostly with the recognition of unusual infections, such as one of the first cases of disseminated histoplasmosis to be recognized in the United States.
Dr. Rice gave a series of lectures on sexually transmitted infections to the medical students.
As an example of the positive impression he created among students, in 1986, a member of the Class of 1947, Dr. Dorothy Lansing, endowed a school wide lectureship called the “Thurman B. Rice Sexually Transmitted Diseases Lectureship” in honor of his teaching and its importance to her practice of gynecology. In researching Dr. Rice, one of the initial speakers in the series found that he was a strong advocate of the Eugenics Movement and had published a book entitled “Racial Hygiene: A Practical Discussion of Eugenics and Race Culture” (New York: MacMillan Company, 1929).
According to the Indiana State Library website, this book “written by an Indiana University professor and chairman of the Indiana Eugenics Committee…is a discussion of heredity and genetics to inform the reader on good and bad human stock, inbreeding, racial poisons, differential birth rates, etc. with the view that once informed the public will support new marriage laws and other means of preserving
‘best germ plasma’." Obviously, Dr. Rice’s views are not compatible with the core values of the School and modern society. Given this embarrassing discovery, the donors and the School renamed the lectureship “The Class of 1947 Sexually Transmitted Diseases Lectureship” in 1991.
A major reorganization of the department took place in 1947. Dr. Rice became Chair of the newly formed Department of Public Health. The Department of Microbiology was organized and Dr. Randall L. Thompson was brought in as Chair. Two incumbent faculty members left, Drs. White and Lyle Weed, with Mr. Raidt remaining from the Rice years and would continue in the department for another thirty years. Drs. Sherman A. Minton, a graduate of I.U. School of Medicine, and William A. Summers, a parasitologist trained at Tulane, joined the faculty at that time after serving in the military. Dr. Hugh Headlee transferred to the department from the department of Clinical Pathology. Dr. Edward W. Shrigley joined the faculty in 1949 after training at both the universities of Wisconsin and Yale.
This restructured Department continued to instruct medical students but added courses for dental students, nurses and allied health students. The medical student course was expanded to include additional material on viruses, fungi and immunology. Parasitology was taught in conjunction with microbiology but as a separate course. The laboratory continued to focus on clinical diagnostic microbiology. The course was taught in the aging laboratories of the medical
school building, now Emerson Hall. The non-teaching activities of the faculty were still quite service oriented but basic research in microbiology began for the first time. Dr. Thompson was a virologist and with support from the Burroughs-Welcome Co. initiated a program of antiviral drug screening. This research developed thiosemicarbazone for chemoprophylaxis of smallpox. The drug saw limited use before eradication of the disease. Through Dr. Shrigley's interests, a research program on tumor viruses was initiated. A new service function was the development of a viral diagnostic laboratory within the department. Diagnostic virology, aside from examination of animal brains for rabies virus, was almost unknown in Indiana. During the 1950's the diagnostic services of the viral laboratory were gradually taken over by the State Board of Health and the Clinical Laboratories. Clinical parasitology and autopsy bacteriology continued to be carried out in the laboratories of Dr. Headlee and Mr. Raidt, respectively.
Dr. Thompson was a very good research scientist, a better than average teacher and an exceptionally hard worker. However, he did not always handle interpersonal relationships well. This was especially true with the medical school administration and to some extent within the department. He resigned in the spring of 1953 amid a certain amount of discord. Dr. Shrigley was appointed Chair July 1, 1953.
Dr. Edward "Ned" Shrigley would have the single most influence on the character of the department than any other individual to date. This was in part because it was on his watch that profound changes occurred within the discipline and within the School of Medicine, but also because of training and intellect he seized upon the opportunities and necessities to structure a department that could not only teach the new advances in microbiology arid immunology but also through basic investigation contribute to this "new microbiology". The development and use of antimicrobial drugs, sulfa and penicillin, during World War IT and the intense search for other antibiotics immediately after the war focused research toward the structure of bacterial surfaces, metabolic pathways of bacteria not common to mammalian cells and, as antibiotic resistance became a fact of medicine, how bacteria exchanged genetic information.
Dr. Shrigley would gradually build a department that addressed these new questions. The department had saturated its assigned space primarily in the basement-east wing of Emerson Hall.
Dr. Joseph Ingraham, an immunologist, joined the department from the U. of Chicago and space for his laboratory was found in the Riley Hospital. Dr. Ingraham was instrumental in developing a program for graduate students leading to the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. The first graduate student, Carl Wust, was admitted in 1952 and received the Ph.D. in 1957. Some seventy more students were to be awarded that degree from the department in the next thirty five years. A major change in the structure of the medical school was planned. The first year of medical student training would move from Bloomington to Indianapolis. A building for all basic science departments would be built on the Indianapolis campus. This building, the M e d i c a l Science Building, was not ready for occupancy until 1958. With the anticipated move into the new building, several new faculty were recruited during the 1957-58 year; Dr. Alvin Levine with expertise in viruses that induce tumors, Dr. Martin Dworkin a microbial physiologist, and Dr. Donald Sutton a mycologist.
These appointments reflected the shaping of a department that was based upon areas of research in addition to teaching. After the move into the Medical Science Building the faculty was expanded in 1961 by the addition of Dr. D. C. Bauer an immunologist and the replacing of Dr.
Sutton by Dr. Donald Niederpruem in mycology. Dr. Shrigley received funding from the NIH for a predoctoral training grant which was activated in 1959 and started to have a significant impact on the size of the graduate program by 1961-62. This was the first graduate student training grant in the School of Medicine.
The Department became involved in the School of Medicine's postgraduate medical education in Pakistan. Dr. Headlee was appointed coordinator and Dr. Minton microbiologist from 1958-1962. Several Pakistani students also came to Indianapolis to work on their Ph.D.
degrees and take this expertise back to their medical schools. Upon returning from Pakistan, Dr.
Headlee joined the Department of Public Health and Dr. Minton continued his research in the department on the venoms of poisonous reptiles which earned him international recognition.
The next decade saw Dr. Dworkin leave in 1962 and be replaced by Dr. William Finnerty who in turn was replaced in 1968 by Dr. Warner Wegener. The faculty was expanded in 1968 when Dr. Richard Bockrath was recruited in the area of microbial genetics. Dr. Ann Mathysee was a faculty member from 1971-1974 studying bacterial induced tumors in plants. In 1971 Dr. Levine left to direct the newly formed Center for Medical Education in Terre Haute.
Dr. Shrigley retired as Chair in 1973. Dr. William Sawyer was recruited as the new Chair. Dr. Sawyer had been on the faculty at Johns Hopkins and had directed the development of a microbiology department at Mahidol University in Thailand. He immediately revised the course for medical students into the "Hopkins format" which still forms the basic structure of that course. Several of the faculty who had spanned diverse eras in the department retired in the mid to late 70's, Mr. Raidt after an incredible 42 years; Dr. Shrigley and Dr.
Summers. These openings afforded Dr. Sawyer a unique opportunity to structure the department for the new era of molecular biology. Dr. Lloyd Olsen a pediatric virologist had joined the department with Dr. Sawyer, Dr. Ronald Watson an immunologist, Drs. Ann Roman and Robert Schloemer virologists and Dr. Raoul Rosenthal a bacteriologist were quickly added. In 1978 Dr.
Charles Wilde, III replaced Dr. Watson and a year later Dr. Steven Larsen, trained in gene splicing, came from Johns Hopkins as a replacement for Dr. Olsen. Dr. Richard Haak, a membrane biophysicist, transferred from Medical Biophysics to the department during this same period. The Department's name was changed to "Microbiology and Immunology" in 1977.
Dr. Sawyer relinquished the Chair at the end of 1980 to become dean of the School of Medicine at Wright State University. In his seven years he left an impressive legacy of teaching medical students, developing research programs which were at the cutting edge of current microbiology and a very strong personality which was appreciated by some but not embraced by others. The Department was now fully engaged in the molecular and cellular mechanisms of viral and bacterial pathogenesis.
Dr. Bauer was appointed Chair in 1981. The graduate program which had as many students as 30 in the early 70's and had fallen to as low as 8, was gradually built back to 20 or more students. Dr. Minton retired in 1984 and was replaced by Dr. John Slack, an immunologist from the Scripps Institute. Dr. Ingraham retired in 1987 and his replacement was Dr. Byoung Kwon a molecular immunologist. Dr. Slack left in 1991 and was replaced by Dr. Michael Klemsz, also a molecular immunologist.
D.C. Bauer, Ph.D.
Jack served as Acting/Interim Chair of the Department of Microbiology both as an Associate Professor and as a Professor and in 1981 was appointed Chair of the department, remaining such until his retirement in 1996. Jack was a member of a number of national professional societies, including the American Association of Immunologists, the American Society for Microbiology, Sigma Xi, and the Association of Medical School Microbiology and Immunology Chairmen.
Jack taught immunology to medical, dental and graduate students. He had a strong sense of what the students should be taught. He always took the education mission very seriously. Jack had a terrific ability to present complex ideas in a way that was very clear and allowed the students to grasp the material. As a lecturer, Jack wore a jacket and tie but his style in the large lecture setting was relaxed and comfortable, making it easy for students to approach him.
During his tenure at the University, Jack mentored many students who received their master’s or doctoral degrees for research done in his laboratory. This research originally addressed basic concepts in immunology and later evolved to contributions in the area of multiple sclerosis. Jack was very proud of his students and the strong bond between them was amply displayed when they came from all over the country to participate in Jack’s retirement celebration.
Jack’s insight into the elements required to produce excellent scientists and physicians, and his commitment to ensuring a quality educational experience, led to his participation in many committees at the Medical School. These included Chairing the Academic Standards Committee and participating in the Education Curriculum and Admissions Committees for the School of Medicine.
The esteem in which he was held by the School is amply documented by his being asked to serve on the many Search and Screen Committees, including for the Chair of Anatomy, of Surgery, of Pathology, Dean of the Graduate School, Dean of the Medical School, and Center Directorships.
Jack was not only a great mentor to his students but also to the faculty, especially those just beginning their careers. As Course Director for the medical school Microbiology and Immunology course, he sat in on all lectures and then gave constructive comments to the lecturers. Jack was always a calming influence, always a very even keel, and always able to look at things objectively. He set a high standard for all to follow. He was very committed to the Department and the School and he instilled this in his faculty. And he was always tolerant and respectful of others. For his outstanding abilities as an educator, Jack was the recipient of three highly prestigious honors: The Distinguished Teaching Award from Indiana University, The Faculty Colloquium on Excellence in Teaching Award from Indiana University and the Sagamore of the Wabash – the highest honor bestowed by the Governor of Indiana for distinguished service to the state. As Chair of Microbiology and Immunology, Jack quietly made a number of changes in the Department that made it run smoother and laboratory dollars go further. By creative financing, he was also able to increase the number of graduate students in the department. His reputation in the field of immunology allowed Jack to recruit other first class immunologists to the department.
Ann Roman, Ph.D. (Interim Chair)
Professor Ann Roman served as the Interim Chair in 1996 and Associate Chair until her retirement in 2010. During her tenure at IUSM she made many significant contributions in research, teaching and service. With respect to research, Dr. Roman maintained a high quality research program. She consistently attracted external funding from NIAID and NCI branches of the NIH, and the American Cancer Society. Her program concentrated on understanding how human papillomaviruses (HPVs) contribute to the development of cancer. HPVs are a large family of viruses which are divided into low risk (e.g., HPV 6) and high risk (e.g., HPV 16) with respect to the chance of developing cervical cancer following infection. Dr. Roman concentrated most of her effort on understanding what low and high risk viruses have in common that allows them to produce more virus and what additional activities high risk viruses have to make them oncogenic.
Her contributions included demonstrating that CCAAT Displacement Protein, COP, is a negative regulator of HPV transcription and viral DNA replication; the E7 proteins encoded by both high
and low risk viruses share the ability to target a key regulatory protein, pRb2/p130, for degradation and that the ability to target this protein correlated with the ability of the genome to delay differentiation; and HPV proteins can change the profile of cellular proteins within the cells they infect in such a way as to favor acquisition of a blood supply. The esteem with which Dr. Roman is held within her professional community is documented by her membership on the Virology Editorial Board (2002-2014), and on the Scientific Organizing Committee for international meetings (DNA Tumor Virus Meeting 1998, 2002, 2004, 2008; International Papillomavirus Workshop 2006, 2007, 2009). In addition, she Chaired sessions at the DNA Tumor Virus meetings regularly since 1996.
Dr. Roman w a s a consistent contributor to the teaching mission of our institution. Her didactic teaching was in the area of molecular biology/virology/cancer. The quality of her teaching was documented in 2006 when she received the Trustee Teaching Award. In addition to her didactic teaching, Dr. Roman w a s the thesis advisor for 12 graduate students and mentor to 5 postdoctoral fellows. S h e w a s twice the recipient of the Randy Rosenthal Graduate Student Advocacy Award from the graduate students in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology w h i c h shows the respect and rapport that she had with our graduate students.
Dr. Roman contributed to the teaching mission of the IUSM through curriculum development as well as development of new courses and new minors. She took a leadership role in the development of two revisions of our graduate program as well as participating in the development of the IBMG program. Dr. Roman was instrumental in organizing three new courses and two new minors. In 1985, she helped develop J829 Current Topics in the Molecular Genetics of Microorganisms, an advanced graduate course in the area of microbiology. In 1997, with the restructuring of our graduate program to include a focus area in cancer, Dr. Roman facilitated the development of J842 Neoplastic Determinants which addresses the genetic basis of the cancer phenotype and draws students from a number of departments. With the restructuring of graduate education at IUSM, she helped develop G852 Cancer Cells: Signaling Gone Awry, a module for first year graduate students. Dr. Roman has also established two new minors at IUPUI. In 1987, she led a group of faculty representing the basic science departments to develop a minor in Cellular and Molecular Biology. In 2004, she facilitated the development of a minor in Cancer Biology. Her impact on the training of predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows at IUSM culminated with her successful application for an NIH T32 Cancer Biology Training Program t h a t annually funded two predoctoral and 6 postdoctoral (Ph.D. or M.D.) trainees housed in both basic science and clinical departments.
Dr. Roman was a consistent contributor to the efforts to diversify the campus. She often had students in her laboratory from the NIH T35 Short Term Training for Minorities program that provided a summer research experience to undergraduates from underrepresented minorities and she actively recruited underrepresented minorities for the Cancer Biology Training Program.
In addition to her service activities related to research and teaching, Dr. Roman made many service contributions to IUSM and IUPUI serving as the Chair of the IUSM Salary Equity Committee, and Chair of the Search and Screen Committee for the Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, as well as a member of several Task Forces.
Hal E. Broxmeyer, Ph.D.
In January 1997, Hal E. Broxmeyer, the Scientific Director of the Walther Oncology Center (1988-2009), and the Co-Leader of the Hematopoiesis, Microenvironment (later Malignant Hematology), and Immunology Program of the NCI-Designated Indiana University Cancer Center
(Mid 1990’s – Present) was named Chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and made a commitment to improve the quality of departmental graduate education, teaching, and research.
The department focused on and recruited faculty in the areas of bacterial and viral pathogenesis, cell and molecular immunology, and cancer. During his tenure as department Chair, Dr. Broxmeyer recruited 19 tenure track/tenured faculty, 9 scientific track faculty and 1 lecturer as well as a number of secondary faculty from other departments including: D. Wade Clapp, M.D., Kenneth Cornetta, M.D., Mary Dinauer, M.D., Ph.D., Thomas A. Gardner, M.D., Laura Haneline, M.D., Meei-Huey Jeng, Ph.D., Chinghai Kao, Ph.D., Reuben Kapur, Ph.D., Franklin O. Smith, M.D., Edward F. Srour, Ph.D., Mary Margaret Vickerman, D.M.S, Ph.D., and David S. Wilkes, M.D., Ph.D. From 1997 – 2000 the extramural grant funding of primary faculty increased nearly 400% from $1,254,067 (Direct and Indirect Cost) to $4,618,895. Increased grant funding also increased work possibilities of our graduate students. About March, 1998, Dr. Broxmeyer and associates met with the Office of Student Financial Aid Services to ask for an increase from our $175,000 Work Study commitment. This meeting resulted in an agreed-upon Work Study budget of $300,000 for the 1998-99 year. This important increase allowed them recruit eight students, including four minority students that year. In March, 1999 a new departmental brochure was distributed to colleges nationwide, as well as various key people within the IUPUI campus. The requirements for Ph.D. credits now in existence were set during Dr. Broxmeyer’s tenure as Chair. When he became Chair in 1997, the department was ranked about 80th of all medical school departments of microbiology and immunology in the country. Under his guidance, the ranking rose in 2003 to a peak of 25th of all such departments in the country.
Dr. Broxmeyer stepped down as Chair in 2010 but continues his research as a Distinguished Professor in the Department and as Co-Leader of the NCI-Designated IU Simon Cancer Center Program of Hematopoiesis, Malignant Hematology, and Immunology.
Stanley M. Spinola, M.D.
In October 2010, Stanley M. Spinola, the David H. Jacobs Professor and Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at IUSM from 1995 to 2010, was named Chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. The department focused on recruiting faculty who work on the host pathogen interface and who strengthened existing research groups within the Department and School of Medicine. To date, Dr. Spinola has recruited 6 tenure track faculty and 1 lecturer as well as a number of secondary faculty from other departments. From 2010 to 2014, the extramural grant funding of primary faculty has remained relatively stable and has ranged from $7,396,169 (Direct and Indirect Cost) to $6,582,758. Despite the current poor funding climate, our Departmental funding ranking has improved from 39 to 30 (all medical schools) and from 18 to 16 (public medical Schools).
The Department currently has 17 primary faculty members, who are joined by 24 secondary faculty members from the Departments of Dermatology, Medical and Molecular Genetics, Medicine, Pediatrics, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Surgery and Urology. Many of our faculty are members of the IU Simon Cancer Center, the IU Center for Immunobiology, or the Herman B. Wells Center for Pediatric Research.
Our faculty and trainees are working at the forefront of research on the molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis, immune responsiveness, the microbiome, infectious diseases, cancer biology, hematopoiesis, stem cell biology and gene therapy. Current research activities include microbial pathogenesis, with a focus on Borrelia burgdorferi, Chlamydia trachomatis, Coxiella burnetii, Haemophilus ducreyi, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV-1, Human Papillomavirus Virus, Leptospira interrogans and Toxoplasma gondii. We have a major emphasis on immunology including the studies of immune responsiveness in humans, immune evasion by viruses and tumors, susceptibility to
autoimmune diseases, diabetes, innate and adaptive immunity, and Class 1 and Class 2 antigen presentation. Our research in stem cell biology and hematopoiesis is one of the première programs in the nation.
We are in an exciting expansion phase and have added 6 new faculty members in the past 4 years. These recruitments have been thematic and complement our existing strengths. Dr. Jie Sun was recruited from the University of Virginia to join the lung inflammation group in the Wells Center; Dr.
Sun focuses on immune mechanisms of lung injury and recovery from influenza and respiratory syncytial virus. Dr. Henrique Serezani came from the University of Michigan and focuses on the modulation of macrophage effector function for a variety of pathogens, including Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus. Dr. Gustavo Arrizabalaga was co-recruited by the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of Idaho to enhance our Toxoplasmosis research effort; Dr. Arrizabalaga studies the cell biology and regulation of motility of this important pathogen. Dr. Stacey Gilk joined us from the Rocky Mountain laboratories to continue her studies on how Coxiella burnetii manipulates host cell lipids so that it can survive intracellularly.
Dr. David Nelson joined us from IU-Bloomington; Dr. Nelson was also co-recruited by the Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and studies Chlamydia pathogenesis and relationships between the human microbiome and health and disease. Dr. Haitao Guo from Drexel University will join our faculty in July 2014; he works on Hepatitis B replication and the discovery of small molecules to inhibit replication; he was co-recruited by the Cancer Center. Together with our existing faculty, these targeted recruitments have enhanced our lung inflammation and virology programs; we have also assembled a large group of scientists who focus on intracellular pathogens and pathogen survival in macrophages.
The department currently offers a graduate program in Microbiology and Immunology leading to a MS or PhD degree awarded by the Indiana University Graduate School. Thirty students are currently enrolled in our program. There are 19 postdoctoral fellows in training. There are approximately 25 faculty members who have active research programs with whom our graduate students or postdoctoral fellows may potentially train. We hold several NIH-funded training grants to support predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows, with training opportunities in Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and HIV-1, Regulation of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Production and Basic Science Studies on Gene Therapy. Our Bridges to the Doctorate training program underscores our commitment to maximizing diversity in graduate education.
Our teaching mission includes medical and nursing courses in Medical Microbiology and Medical Immunology. Dr. Mike Klemsz is leading our medical school curriculum reform efforts that will consolidate these courses into a new module called Host Defense. We offer core graduate courses in Immunology, Infection and Pathogenesis, Neoplastic Determinants, and Stem Cell Biology and advanced courses in many specialty areas that reflect the research interests of our faculty. In the next few years, we plan on recruiting 2 to 4 new faculty; our emphasis will be on continues strengthening of our research programs.
From the Department Annual Review Research Reports these are the NIH Funding Ranks.
NIH Ranking for All Medical Schools: NIH Ranking for Public Medical Schools:
2002 = 30 2003 = 25
2004 = 30 2004 = 15
2005 = 35 2005 = 17
2006 = 27 2006 = 9
2007 = 30 2007 = 13
2008 = 40 2008 = 19
2009 = 39 2009 = 18
2010 = 39 2010 = 18
2011 = 38 2011 = 18
2012 = 30 2012 = 16
