Mae Long Research Group

Dr. Long graduated summa cum laude from Gardner-Webb University with a B.S. in 2011. She received her Ph.D. in immunology and microbial pathogenesis from West Virginia University in 2016. Here, she studied the role of regulatory T cells and microRNAs in chemical allergy at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (CDC). After earning her doctorate, Dr. Long moved to Hamilton, Montana, to join Dr. Robert Heinzen’s group at the National Institutes of Health to work as an Intramural Research Training Award postdoctoral fellow. During this time, Dr. Long worked in the biosafety level 3 laboratory researching the causative agent of Q fever, Coxiella burnetii. She investigated both bacterial and host factors required for virulence and refined guinea pig models for infection, vaccination, and post-vaccination hypersensitivity. In 2019, Dr. Long received an Independent Research Scholar Award from NIH, allowing her to form an autonomous research group to continue her work on Coxiella burnetii.

Ms. Binette studies Coxiella burnetii host-pathogen interactions in the context of potential non-specific immune induction following infection and/or whole cell vaccination. She has created and is currently utilizing a novel C. burnetii-SARS-CoV-2 spike protein expression construct to explore these concepts.

Dr. Richards studies bacterial and host metabolic factors that influence pathogenesis during Q fever as well as host immune responses during vaccination. Her research is also focused on identifying and characterizing genetic factors that influence virulence of Coxiella burnetii, including those that modulate survival of environmental stresses such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) and acid stress...

Ms. Tesfamariam’s research focuses on the identification of bacterial and host factors involved in the unique virulence profile of Dugway Coxiella burnetii strains. Her work involves type IV secretion system effector protein characterization and animal models of host pathogen interactions, including infection and vaccination-challenge.