Infection, Immunity and Inflammation Research | Biomedical and Molecular Sciences | School of Medicine

Infection, Immunity and Inflammation Research Group @ Queen's (3IQ)

Infectious agents have a major impact on global health. Recent data compiled by the World Health Organization indicate that upwards of 13.75 million people die each year due to infectious diseases – the leading cause of death on earth. These diseases caused by bacteria, fungi, viruses and other pathogens are also major causes of morbidity, and social and economic hardships for many millions more. Furthermore, inflammation, a process closely associated with the clearance of infections, is also responsible for a large variety of human diseases. These disorders include allergy, cancer, cardiovascular disease and inflammatory intestinal diseases, to name a few. These observations highlight the need for strong investment in research into infection, immunity and inflammation.

Research in infection, immunity and inflammation will result in advances in our understanding of the basic biology of pathogens and the development of disease, the beneficial and detrimental aspects of the host response to infection, as well as the development of new diagnostic tools, vaccine strategies and pharmacological interventions. The long-term goals of researchers in this field are to eradicate pathogens and lessen the severity of disease, thereby preventing millions of deaths and improving the wellbeing of many more.

Contact information of the executive council:

1. Katrina Gee, PhD, (Director) kgee@queensu.ca

2. Sam Basta, PhD bastas@queensu.ca

3. Andrew Craig, andrew.craig@queensu.ca

Research areas of (3IQ) members

Dr. Brian Amsden (Department of Chemical Engineering)

Creation of effective biodegradable and biocompatible polymers for biomedical applications.
Dr. John Allingham (Dept. of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences):

Structure and function of cytoskeleton-associated molecular motors in human and agricultural fungal pathogens.
Dr. Sheela Abraham (Dept. of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences):

Immunological factors and signalling events within the tumour milieu that promote malignancy.
Dr. Bruce Banfield (Dept. of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences):

Molecular and cellular biology of herpesvirus infections.
Dr. Sam Basta (Dept. of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences):

Inflammatory and suppressive immune cells in viral infections and tumour models.
Dr. Che Colpitts (Dept. of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences):

Virus entry, virus-host interactions and innate immune evasion by coronaviruses and other positive-sense RNA viruses
Dr. Andrew Craig (Dept. of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences):

Mast cell activation and inflammation.
Dr. Qingling Duan (Dept. of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences):

The genetic basis of variability in inflammatory diseases.
Dr. Anne Ellis (Dept. of Medicine):

Systemic immune mechanisms in allergic diseases.
Dr. Lindsay Fitzpatrick (Dept. of Chemical Engineering):

Identifying the molecular mechanisms that govern the initiation and resolution of inflammation in the presence of biomaterials to develop advanced materials for chronic wound therapies.
Dr. Charles Graham (Dept. of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences):

Inflammation in models of cancer and pregnancies.
Dr. Katrina Gee (Dept. of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences):

The impact of HIV infection on the function of immune cells.
Dr. Nader Ghasemlou (Dept. of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences / Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine):

Neuro-immunology of Pain.
Dr. Peter Greer (Dept. of Pathology and Molecular Medicine):

Role of inflammation in cancer.
Dr. Christine Hough (Dept. of Pathology and Molecular Medicine):

Immune tolerance to gene therapy with viral vectors.
Dr. Daren Heyland (Dept. of Medicine):

Sepsis and the interaction between the gastrointestinal tract, infection and nutrition in critical illness.
Dr. Madhuri Koti (Dept. of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences):

Anti-tumour immunity and treatment response in ovarian and prostate cancers.
Dr. Christopher Lohans (Dept. of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences):

Microbiological and biochemical approaches to study antibiotic resistance, with a focus on beta-lactam antibiotics and the enzymes that degrade them
Dr. Alan Lomax: (Dept. of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences / Medicine):

Neuro-immune interactions during inflammatory disease.
Dr. David Lillicrap (Dept. of Pathology and Molecular Medicine):

Immunologic tolerance to Factor VIII.
Dr. Jacqueline Monaghan (Dept. of Biology):

Identifying the molecular mechanisms that regulate immune signaling in plants”
Dr. Nancy Martin: (Dept. of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences):

Understanding how pathogenic bacteria sense changes in their environment.
Dr. Mark Ormiston: (Dept. of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences / Medicine and Surgery):

Immune system dysfunction associated with the pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) disease.
Dr. Keith Poole: (Dept. of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences):

Mechanisms of antibiotics resistance in bacteria.
Dr. Michael Rauh (Dept. of Pathology and Molecular Medicine):

Translational studies in myeloid blood cancers and innate immune tolerance.
Dr. David Reed (Dept. of Medicine):

The interaction of luminal factors (e.g. dietary components) with stress or the microbiota modulates pain signaling and motility in disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome.
Dr. Steven Smith: (Dept. of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences):

Structural and functional analysis of carbohydrate-modifying enzymes in Clostridium perfringens and structural and functional studies of E2A in lymphopoiesis.
Dr. Chandra Tayade (Dept. of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences):

Immune mechanisms in the pathogenesis of endometriosis.