Program Overview	Faculty
Clinical Training	Participating UTMB Programs and Departments
Eligibility	Nominations/Applications

NIH/NIAID-supported UTMB Postdoctoral Training Program
 in Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases

The training program in emerging and reemerging infectious diseases supports postdoctoral trainees and prepares them for clinical, epidemiologic, applied or basic careers in the field. Training is provided by 18 Program Faculty and 19 Associate Program Faculty, encompassing multidisciplinary approaches and the resources of several departments including Internal Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology, Pediatrics, and Pathology, as well as the WHO Collaborating Center for Tropical Diseases (CTD), the Sealy Center for Vaccine Development, the Center for Biodefense, and the Sealy Center for Structural Biology. UTMB also hosts the World Reference Center for Arboviruses. UTMB has extensive BSL-3 bench laboratory and animal research facilities, and a newly constructed BSL-4 laboratory.  The university has made a major commitment to research and training in the field by recruitment of senior, established faculty to facilitate research and training in the field. Approximately 90 faculty at UTMB conduct research projects in infectious diseases of all types. Very few medical schools in the United States can now claim to have a faculty as large, as diverse but collaborative in multidisciplinary studies, and of such excellence in the area of emerging infectious diseases.

The program offers training in two broad tracks: (1) basic investigation; and (2) clinical investigation. In the second tract, the trainee is encouraged to obtain an M.Sc.. degree through the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health. In addition, the program offers basic and clinical investigation training in a specific Biodefense Track, addressing CDC/NIAID class A, B, and C pathogens. The major objective of the training program is to foster development of basic or clinical research skills along with a collaborative approach to enable trainees to become independent investigators in the field of emerging and reemerging infectious diseases, including research regarding pathogens considered to be potential bioterrorist threats. Research is conducted in all of the relevant pathogen-related disciplines, in pathogenetic mechanisms, and in vector biology. A strong feature of the proposed training program is the extensive availability of international field research experience. Training is thus available from state-of-the-art laboratories at UTMB to the most effective current techniques for research in the field. The trainees will be thoroughly oriented regarding contemporary problems in the relevant disciplines and will be provided with outstanding research opportunities. Most importantly, they will be prepared to embark on careers characterized by continual self improvement and utilization of future opportunities for collaboration and cross-disciplinary problem solving.

Clinical Training:

This NIH/NIAID-funded program provides support for research training only. Research training can be combined with clinical training in infectious diseases for individuals with MD's and prior residency training in Internal Medicine or Pediatrics. Clinical training is supported by other funding sources. Individuals desiring clinical as well as research training may be eligible for research training support under this NIH/NIAID program if they meet the criteria listed below. For information regarding combined clinical and research training in infectious diseases visit our sites at:

• Division of Infectious Diseases, Fellowship Program
• Pediatric Infectious Diseases

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Eligibility

• M.D./Ph.D./D.V.M.
• U.S. citizens or permanent resident non-citizen nationals
• Established interest and/or experience in emerging and reemerging infectious diseases

Individuals desiring research training in this area, but ineligible for NIH support, should consider applying for training under the James W. McLaughlin Fellowship Fund program. 

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Participating UTMB Programs and Departments:

• Infectious Diseases/Internal Medicine
• Pathology
• Microbiology and Immunology
• Pediatric Infectious Diseases
• Preventive Medicine and Community Health
• WHO Collaborating Center for Tropical Diseases
• Sealy Center for Vaccine Development
• Sealy Center for Structural Biology
• UTMB Center for Biodefense

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Faculty

EMERGING AND REEMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES PROGRAM FACULTY
NAME, Primary (Secondary) Appointment(s)	RESEARCH INTERESTS	ROLE IN PROGRAM E-mail Addresses
PROGRAM DIRECTOR AND ASSOCIATE PROGRAM DIRECTORS
Norbert J. Roberts, Jr., MD Internal Medicine/Infectious Diseases (Microbiology and Immunology, Center for Tropical Diseases)	Pathogenesis of influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and HIV infection; antiviral immunity, immunogenetics and immunoregulation	Director, Program Faculty nroberts@utmb.edu
PROGRAM FACULTY
Alan D.T. Barrett, PhD Pathology (Center for Tropical Diseases)	Flaviviruses, molecular determinants of virus pathogenicity, vaccine development	Program Faculty abarrett@utmb.edu
Roberto P. Garofalo, MD Pediatrics	Cellular and molecular mechanisms of respiratory syncytial virus infection; Pathogenesis of virus- induced asthma/allergic sensitization.	Program Faculty rpgarofa@utmb.edu
Stephen Higgs, Ph.D. Pathology (Center for Tropical Diseases)	Research on Arthropod-born viruses, with an interest focusing on mosquito-virus-vertebrate interactions	Program Faculty sthiggs@utmb.edu
Gary R. Klimpel, PhD Microbiology and Immunology	Cell-mediated immunity in defense against enteric bacterial infections, cellular immune responses to hepatitis C virus	Program Faculty gklimpel@utmb.edu
Stanley M. Lemon, MD Microbiology and Immunology (Internal Medicine, Center for Tropical Diseases)	Molecular virology and pathogenesis of positive-strand RNA hepatitis viruses, mechanisms of cap-independent viral translation	Program Faculty smlemon@utmb.edu
David W. Niesel, PhD Microbiology and Immunology (Center for Tropical Diseases)	Genetic and molecular basis of virulence of Gram negative enteric pathogens, recombinant vaccine development in Salmonella	Program Faculty dniesel@utmb.edu
William A. O'Brien, MS, MD Internal Medicine/ Infectious Diseases (Center for Tropical Diseases)	Molecular pathogenesis of HIV infection, molecular monitoring for clinical trials	Program Faculty wobrien@utmb.edu
Clarence James Peters, M.D. Microbiology and Immunology	Emerging Infectious Diseases	Program Faculty cjpeters@utmb.edu
Johnny W. Peterson, PhD Microbiology and Immunology (Center for Tropical Diseases)	Pathogenesis of bacterial diseases and immunologic intervention	Program Faculty jpeterso@utmb.edu
Victor Reyes, PhD Pediatrics	Development of immune responses to infectious agents, epithelium-microorganism interaction, Helicobacter pylori	Program Faculty vreyes@utmb.edu
Chiaho Shih, PhD Pathology (Center for Tropical Diseases)	Molecular biology and immunopathology of human hepatitis viruses;  Mechanisms of persistence and oncogenesis of hepatitis B and C viruses	Program Faculty cshih@utmb.edu
Lynn Soong, MD, PhD Microbiology and Immunology (Pathology,  Center for Tropical Diseases)	Immunological mechanisms in New World leishmaniasis, and vaccine development.	Program Faculty lysoong@utmb.edu
Lawrence R. Stanberry, M.D., Ph.D. Pediatrics, Sealy Center for Vaccine Development	Development of prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines, basic studies of the pathogenesis and immunobiology of herpes simplex virus, the development of topical microbicides to control sexually transmitted infections, and the special problem of genital herpes infection in teenagers.	Program Faculty lrstanbe@utmb.edu
Robert B. Tesh, MD, MS Pathology (Microbiology and Immunology, Center for Tropical Diseases)	Epidemiology of vector-borne and zoonotic diseases	Program Faculty rtesh@utmb.edu
David H. Walker, MD Pathology (Center for Tropical Diseases)	Immunity and pathogenesis of rickettsial and ehrlicheal infections	Program Faculty dwalker@utmb.edu
Dennis M. Walling, MD Internal Medicine/Infectious Diseases (Center for Tropical Diseases)	Molecular epidemiology and pathogenesis of Epstein-Barr virus infections	Program Faculty dwalling@utmb.edu
Scott C. Weaver, PhD Pathology (Center for Tropical Diseases)	Ecology, evolution and pathogenesis of arthropod-borne viral diseases, and molecular mechanisms of virus-vector interactions	Program Faculty sweaver@utmb.edu
ASSOCIATE PROGRAM FACULTY
Thomas Albrecht, PhD Microbiology and Immunology	Molecular and cellular pathogenesis of human cytomegalovirus	Assoc. Program Faculty talbrech@utmb.edu
Judith F. Aronson, MD Pathology (Center for Tropical Diseases)	Pathogenesis of arenavirus hemorrhagic fevers	Assoc. Program Faculty jaronson@utmb.edu
Tasnee Chonmaitree, MD Pediatrics/Infectious Diseases	Viral otitis media, respiratory viral infections, and inflammatory mediators	Assoc. Program Faculty tchonmai@utmb.edu
Ashok Kumar Chopra, Ph.D. Microbiology & Immunology	Microbial toxins and their contribution in the overall virulence of the organisms in causing human diseases. Modulation of inflammation and vaccine development	Assoc. Program Faculty achopra@utmb.edu
Daniel H. Freeman, Jr., PhD Preventive Medicine and Community Health	Biostatistics, clinical research design	Assoc. Program Faculty dfreeman@utmb.edu
Charles F. Fulhorst, DVM, MPH, DrPH Pathology (Center for Tropical Diseases)	Ecology and pathogenesis of arthropod-borne and rodent-associated viruses	Program Faculty cfulhors@utmb.edu
Nisha Garg, Ph.D. Microbiology & Immunology(Center for Tropical Diseases)	Cellular and molecular mechanisms of Trypanosoma cruzi infection, immunologic and therapeutic intervention	Assoc. Program faculty nigarg@utmb.edu
David G. Gorenstein, PhD Cellular Physiology and Biophysics (Human Biological Chemistry and Genetics, Sealy Center for Structural Biology, Centenial Center in Toxicology, Biomedical Engineering)	Structural biology and NMR spectroscopy of proteins and nucleic acids; Biochemistry, biophysical chemistry, computational biochemistry, enzymology and drug design	Assoc. Program Faculty david@nmr.utmb.edu
Norbert K. Herzog, PhD Pathology (Microbiology and Immunology, Center for Tropical Diseases)	Cellular signal transduction; Host cell and bacterial signalling events in the pathogenesis of Shigella infection	Assoc. Program Faculty nherzog@utmb.edu
Rolf Konig, PhD Microbiology and Immunology (Sealy Center for Molecular Sciences, NIEHS Center in Environmental Health Sciences)	Relationship between structure and function in proteins of immunologic importance, cell biology of antigen recognition	Assoc. Program Faculty rokonig@utmb.edu
James F. Leary, PhD Internal Medicine/Infectious Diseases (Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Biomedical Engineering, Human Biological Chemistry and Genetics, Cellular Physiology and Molecular Biophysics, Sealy Center for Molecular Sciences, Sealy Center for Oncology and Hematology)	Molecular cytometry, mechanisms of HIV infection	Assoc. Program Faculty jleary@utmb.edu
Bruce Luxon, Ph.D. Department of Human Biological Chemistry & Genetics; Director, UTMB	Biomolecular NMR, Structural biology and computational chemistry, bioinformatics	Assoc. Program Faculty baluxon@utmb.edu
Peter W. Mason, Ph.D Department of Pathology, (Center for Tropical Diseases)	Foot-and Mouth Disease Research	Program Faculty pwmason@utmb.edu
Janak Patel, MD Pediatrics/Infectious Diseases	Respiratory viral infections, HIV infection	Assoc. Program Faculty jpatel@utmb.edu
Billy U. Philips, PhD Preventive Medicine and Community Health	Social epidemiology, human ecology	Assoc. Program Faculty bphilips@utmb.edu
Vsevolod L. Popov, PhD Pathology (Center for Tropical Diseases)	Ultrastructural analysis of intracellular organisms	Assoc. Program Faculty vpopov@utmb.edu
Stanley J. Watowich, PhD Human Biological Chemistry and Genetics (Sealy Center for Structural Biology)	X-ray crystallography, antivirals, virus structure	Assoc. Program Faculty watowich@bloch.utmb.edu
Douglas M. Watts, Ph.D. Pathology	Ecology and epidemiology of emerging viral infections, with emphasis on surveillance, diagnosis and control of arthropod-born viral diseases.	Assoc. Program Faculty dowatts@utmb.edu
Shu-Yuan Xiao, M.D., M.S. Pathology, Internal Medicine WHO Collaborating Center for Tropical Diseases	Pathogenesis of flaviviruses, including West Nile virus (encephalitis), yellow fever virus (hepatic necrosis), and hepatitis C (chronic hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma).	Assoc. Program Faculty syxiao@utmb.edu

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Nominations/Applications:

Nominations:

Postdoctoral trainees or trainee candidates of any training grant faculty or associate faculty member are eligible. Current trainees are likewise eligible to apply for continued funding. Trainees must be permanent resident non-citizen nationals or U.S. citizens. Women and members of minority groups are encouraged to apply.  The NIH-supported stipend will depend upon the postgraduate year of the successful applicant, and the remainder of a UTMB stipend (if greater) must be paid from other sources and is the responsibility of the faculty mentor. The program also provides limited funds for training-related tuition and fees, travel (including field investigation), and supplies.

Those who wish to be considered for the training program should contact potential faculty sponsor(s) directly to initiate the nomination/application process in concert with the faculty member. Please see the faculty listing for e-mail addresses.

Applications:

Yearly  appointments start on or after August 1 of each year. Applicants are considered throughout the year for positions in the program.  The following materials is required for all trainee nominations:

• Application form
  Microsoft Word '98
  PDF format (Can be viewed and typed using Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0
• A current Curriculum vitae for the trainee candidate.
• A letter of nomination from the UTMB sponsoring faculty member.
• A two page (maximum) statement (a) one page of which provides information equivalent to the specific aims section of an NIH investigator initiated (R01) grant application (brief rationale and specific aims); and (b) a description of the applicant’s research interests and/or experience in the area of emerging and reemerging infectious diseases (maximum 2 pages total). For current trainees applying for continued support, substitute a progress report and continuation research plan (maximum 5 pages, this would include any additional information that should be called to the attention of the committee that reviews candidates for support by this training program).

Please Note:
Please send applications to Ms. Elizabeth Castillo by the due date by one of the following methods: (1) mail to the Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, 301 University Boulevard, Rt. 0435, Galveston, Texas  77555-0435; (2) e-mail to eacastil@utmb.edu; or (3) hand deliver to Room 4.210, Marvin Graves Building.

Selection:

Trainees will be selected by the Admissions and Recruitment Committee (with broad department and expertise representation), and appointed each year by the Training Program Director. Applications will be evaluated using an NIH-style scale of 1-5 considering the following criteria:

• Academic credentials of the applicant.
• Demonstration of aptitude for, or commitment to, research.
• Relevance of the research that is of interest to the trainee to the field of emerging or
  reemerging infectious diseases.

Acceptance of the appointment to the training program entails signing a standard NIH "payback form" and agreement to participate in the required course on Responsible Conduct in Research (if not taken previously).

For further information, contact:
Ms. Elizabeth A. Castillo
Division of Infectious Diseases, UTMB
301 University Boulevard, Route 0435
Galveston, TX  77555-0435
Telephone: 409-747-0257
Fax: 409-772-6527

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