The focus of the Helminth Immunology Section is the study of host resistance and immune regulation in parasitic helminth infections of global importance. The ultimate goal of this work is prevention of infection and disease. Our work focuses on both the host response to helminth infection and the molecular basis for parasitism in helminths and the prototypical responses they induce.
Helminth Immunology Section 2022 Front Row (left to right) Robert Thompson, MS., Pedro Gazzinelli Guimaraes, Ph.D., Jiana Blaha, MHS, Elise O’Connell, MD, Gayatri Sanku, MPH, Top Row (left to right) Joseph Kubofick, Pablo Bara- Garcia, MS, Sasisekhar Bennuru, Ph.D., Thomas Nutman, M.D., Nina Tang. Missing from Photo – William Sears, MD, MHS, Janitzio Guzman, M.D.
Thomas Nutman, M.D.
Lab Chief, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases
Chief, Helminth Immunology Section
Provides direct clinical care to patients at NIH Clinical Center
Education:
A.B., Brown University, Providence, RI
M.D., University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH
Sasisekhar Bennuru, Ph.D.
Associate Scientist, Helminth Immunology Section
Education:
Ph.D., 2005, Anna University, India
Dr. Bennuru received his Ph.D in 2005 from the Center for Biotechnology, Anna University in Chennai, India. He joined NIH in 2005 as a post-doctoral research fellow with Dr. Thomas Nutman in the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, primarily working on cellular and molecular aspects of human filarial infections and has been a staff scientist since 2013.
Jiana L. Blaha, MHS (She/Her/Hers)
NIH/NIAID Postbac IRTA
Education:
MHS., 2021, Johns Hopkins University
B.S., 2020, American University
Languages Spoken: Spanish
Pablo Efrain Bara-Garcia, M.S. (He/Him/His)
Postbaccalaureate Fellow
Education:
M.S in Microbiology and Immunology, Georgetown University,
B.S in Biology, The Catholic University of America
Languages Spoken: Spanish
Premed student interested in the host immune response to infectious diseases. My main project focuses on the role of interleukin-11 in the host immune response to helminth infection.
Pedro H. Gazzinelli Guimaraes, Ph.D.
Staff Scientist, Helminth Immunology Section
Education:
Ph.D., 2014, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil
M.S., 2010, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil
Dr. Gazzinelli Guimaraes received his master’s degree in Parasitology in 2010 from the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and received his Ph.D. in 2014 from the same university. This was followed by a consulting training at the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (SCI) based at Imperial College - London, UK in 2015, where he then became the supervisor of the Schistosomiasis Consortium for Operational Research and Evaluation (SCORE) project in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, managed by the University of Georgia–USA. He joined NIH in 2016 as a post-doctoral research fellow with Dr. Thomas Nutman in the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases (LPD), NIAID. He is currently a Staff Scientist in LPD.
Janitizio Guzman, M.D.
Infectious Diseases Fellow
Education:
Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Residency, University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine, Tulsa, OK
Doctor of Medicine, University of Texas School of Medicine at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
Bachelor of Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Languages Spoken: Spanish
Joseph Kubofcik, B.S.
Biologist
Education:
Bucknell University, B.S.
I run and maintain the reference laboratory test for the detection of filarial-specific antibodies in serum in the laboratory. I am interested in further improving our laboratory capabilities to improve the diagnosis of filarial and related helminth infections.
Elise M. O’Connell, M.D. (She/Her/Hers)
Chief, Clinical Parasitology Unit
Associate Research Physician
Specialty(s): Infectious Disease, Internal Medicine Provides direct clinical care to patients at NIH Clinical Center
Education:
M.D., Loyola University Chicago
Dr. O’Connell received her medical degree from Loyola University of Chicago. She is a board-certified physician in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases and completed residency at Indiana University and fellowship at the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID/NIH).
Gayatri Sanku, MPH (She/Her/Hers)
GU-NIH Microbiology and Immunology, Ph.D. Candidate
Education:
Ph.D. candidate, Georgetown University
MPH Epidemiology, BS Neuroscience, University of Illinois at Chicago
Within my thesis project, I focus on parasite-viral coinfections. I am interested in characterizing immune responses to common viral infections (cytomegalovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, and SARS-CoV-2) and mechanisms by which filarial helminth co-infection may impact T-cell function and dendritic cell activity.
William J. Sears, M.D., MHS (He/Him/His)
Infectious Disease Fellow
Education:
Med/Peds Residency, Indiana University
M.D., University of Louisville School of Medicine
MHS, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
Languages Spoken: Spanish
I am a physician scientist interested in applying genomics and molecular biology to improve our understanding of parasitological phenomena and their clinical manifestations.
Robert Thompson, M.S. (He/Him/His)
Biologist
Education:
MS., 1995, John Hopkins University
Languages Spoken: Spanish
I am studying the initial contact of Brugia malayi whole worm antigen preps with human lymphatic endothelial cells and examining the effects of this contact on signalling molecules on these cells to understand what initial contacts do that make the changes that end up resulting in inflammation and pathology in lymphatic filariasis.
