|
Research Interests:
|
Dr.Estes is an internationally recognized veterinary immunologist with extensive experience in the cloning, expression and development of detection reagents for cytokines and cell surface receptors in a variety of species including rodents. He is a leading researcher in the field of B cell development and differentiation and animal model development, all of which are instrumental aspects of vaccine/drug development and testing. He has served on numerous review panels and is past cochair of the Microbiology and Immunology I study section of the American Heart Association. He has also served on numerous editorial boards and is currently on the active roster of the Journal of Interferon and Cytokine Research. Dr. Estes has served as principal investigator on 35 grants conducting fundamental studies of immunoregulation in rodent and nonrodent species. He has been continuously funded for the past 10 years by the USDA National Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program (NRICGP) and more recently by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS). He has also directed projects in collaboration with private industry including Pfizer, Inc., Smith-Kline Beecham, Mallinkrodt, Addison Laboratories and Boehringer Ingleheim. He currently holds funding from the NIH and the DOD.
His major achievements include receiving a patent for functional reconstitution of the SCID mouse with a bovine hematolymphoid system and establishing the role of regulatory cytokines/costimulatory molecules/TNF-TNFR superfamily members in regulation of the humoral immune response. He has also served as Director of the Program for Prevention of Animal Infectious Diseases (PPPAID), a federally funded research initiative at the University of Missouri with 6 principal investigators and a budget exceeding $850,000 per year. This program develops novel diagnostic tests, vaccines and functional microbial genomics to identify vaccine targets for respiratory and reproductive diseases of cattle and swine in collaboration with the University of Connecticut and the USDA-ARS. As part of this project, his laboratory developed and evaluated improved DNA vaccine platforms for tuberculosis. Ongoing studies include characterizing a novel cytokine involved in regulation of IgA production and its use as an adjuvant material for mucosal vaccines. A patent application is pending and development projects are underway with several collaborators.
|
