Researchers

Our diverse team of 73 molecular biologists, immunologists, microbiologists, virologists, engineers, chemists, biochemists, physicians, epidemiologists, economists, statisticians, public policy experts, and entrepreneurs represents a merger of skills that will revolutionize vaccine technology. Our research is extremely interdisciplinary—at Iowa State University, the 26 faculty members come from 14 departments in five different colleges.

Ankit Agarwal, PhD
President & CEO
Imbed Biosciences Inc.
advanced biomaterials
contact info & bio

Bailey Arruda, DVM, PhD
Veterinary Medical Science
USDA National Animal Disease Center
infectious diseases of swine
contact info & bio

Vellareddy Anantharam, PhD
Chief Science Officer
PK Biosciences Corp.
antigen/drug design
contact info & bio

Hua Bai, PhD
Genetics, Development & Cell Biology
Iowa State University
cellular and molecular mechanisms of cardiac aging
contact info & bio

Rizia Bardhan, PhD
Chemical & Biological Engineering
Iowa State University
nanophotonics, immunotherapies, diagnostics
contact info & bio

Surinder Batra, PhD
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
University of Nebraska Medical Center
cancer biology
contact info & bio

Lyric Bartholomay, PhD
Pathobiological Sciences
University of Wisconsin-Madison
entomology
contact info & bio

Joshua Beck, PhD
Biomedical Sciences
Iowa State University
malaria, molecular parasitology
contact info & bio

Bryan Bellaire, PhD
Veterinary Microbiology & Preventive Medicine
Iowa State University
microbiology
contact info & bio

Kaitlin Bratlie, PhD
Chemical & Biological Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering
Iowa State University
hydrogels, in vivo imaging
contact info & bio

Paola Boggiatto, PhD, DVM
Infectious Bacterial Diseases Research
USDA National Animal Disease Center
veterinary immunology
contact info & bio

Anne Bronikowski, PhD
Ecology, Evolution & Organismal Biology
Iowa State University
genetics, gerontology
contact info & bio

Noah Butler, PhD
Microbiology & Immunology
University of Iowa
malaria
contact info & bio

Jonathan Claussen, PhD
Mechanical Engineering
Iowa State University
graphene & hybrid nanomaterials
contact info & bio

Kenneth Carson, PhD
Microencapsulation
Southwest Research Institute
nanomaterials, encapsulation, nanomedicine
contact info & bio

Joel Coats, PhD
Entomology
Iowa State University
vector-borne diseases
contact info & bio

Johann Coetzee, PhD
Anatomy & Physiology
Kansas State University
pharmacokinetics
contact info & bio

Maureen Donovan, PhD
Pharmaceutics
University of Iowa
mucosal drug delivery
contact info & bio

Rohana Dassanayake, PhD
Ruminant Diseases & Immunology
USDA National Animal Disease Center
antimicrobial peptides, alternatives to antibiotics
contact info & bio

Thomas Friedrich, PhD
Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Wisc. National Primate Research Center
virology
contact info & bio

Howard Gendelman, MD
Pharmacology & Experimental Neuroscience
University of Nebraska Medical Center
neurodegenerative disorders
contact info & bio

Carmen Gomes, PhD
Mechanical Engineering
Iowa State University
nanoscale delivery, biosensors
contact info & bio

Courtney Gidengel, MD
Natural Scientist
RAND Corporation
pediatric infectious diseases
contact info & bio

Renukaradhya Gourapura, DVM, PhD
Food Animal Health
The Ohio State University
mucosal immunology
contact info & bio

Maneesh Jain, PhD
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
University of Nebraska Medical Center
cancer biology
contact info & bio

Douglas Jones, VMD, PhD
Veterinary Pathology
Iowa State University
immunology
contact info & bio

Manohar John, MD, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
PathoVacs, Inc.
protein antigen discovery
contact info & bio

Anumantha Kanthasamy, PhD
Biomedical Sciences
Iowa State University
neuroscience
contact info & bio

Richard Kennedy, PhD
Vaccine Research Group
Mayo Clinic
immunology
contact info & bio

Indira Kudva, PhD
Food Safety & Enteric Pathogens Unit
USDA National Animal Disease Center
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in livestock
contact info & bio

Marian Kohut, PhD
Kinesiology
Iowa State University
immunology
contact info & bio

Kevin Legge, PhD
Pathology, Microbiology
University of Iowa
immunology
contact info & bio

Surya Mallapragada, PhD
Chemical & Biological Engineering
Iowa State University
nanovaccines & neural tissue engineering
contact info & bio

Jennifer Margrett, PhD
Human Development and Family Studies
Iowa State University
aging
contact info & bio

Ashutosh Mangalam, PhD
Pathology
University of Iowa
multiple sclerosis
contact info & bio

Wendy Maury, PhD
Microbiology
University of Iowa
virology, Ebola
contact info & bio

Joe McDonough, PhD
Microencapsulation & Nanomaterials
Southwest Research Institute
cGMP, scale-up
contact info & bio

Melha Mellata, PhD
Food Science & Human Nutrition
Iowa State University
enteric bacteria, host-bacterial interactions, antibiotic resistance, vaccines
contact info & bio

Jodi McGill, PhD
Veterinary Microbiology & Preventive Medicine
Iowa State University
respiratory pathogens in cattle
contact info & bio

Harshini Mukundan, PhD
Chemistry
USDOE Los Alamos National Laboratory
biomarker design
contact info & bio

Sean Murphy, MD, PhD
Laboratory Medicine
University of Washington Medical Center
malaria
contact info & bio

Inna Ovsyannikova, PhD
Vaccine Research Group
Mayo Clinic
immunology
contact info & bio

Balaji Narasimhan, PhD
Chemical & Biological Engineering
Iowa State University
nanovaccines & nanomedicines
contact info & bio

Andrew Parker, PhD
Senior Behavioral & Social Scientist
RAND Corporation
behavioral decision theory
contact info & bio

Christine Petersen, DVM, PhD
Epidemiology
University of Iowa
immunology
contact info & bio

Yashdeep Phanse, PhD
Veterinary Vaccines
Pan Genome Systems
immunology
contact info & bio

David Peterson, PhD
Political Science
Iowa State University
public policy
contact info & bio

Gregory Phillips, PhD
Veterinary Microbiology & Preventive Medicine
Iowa State University
microbiome/host interactions
contact info & bio

Nicola Pohl, PhD
Chemistry
Indiana University
carbohydrate chemistry
contact info & bio

Krishna Rajan, ScD
Materials Design & Innovation
University at Buffalo
materials design, informatics
contact info & bio

Gregory Poland, MD
Vaccine Research Group
Mayo Clinic
immunology
contact info & bio

Nigel Reuel, PhD
Chemical & Biological Engineering
Iowa State University
biosensors
contact info & bio

Randy Sacco, PhD
Microbiology
USDA National Animal Disease Center
immunology, virology, animal models
contact info & bio

Aliasger Salem, PhD
Pharmaceutics
University of Iowa
nanoparticles, cancer
contact info & bio

Donald Sakaguchi, PhD
Genetics, Development & Cell Biology
Iowa State University
neuroscience
contact info & bio

Aaron Scherer, PhD
Internal Medicine
University of Iowa
medical decision-making
contact info & bio

Ian Schneider, PhD
Chemical & Biological Engineering
Iowa State University
cancer
contact info & bio

Andrean Simons-Burnett, PhD
Pathology, Radiation Oncology
University of Iowa
head and neck cancer
contact info & bio

Richard Silberglitt, PhD
Senior Physical Scientist
RAND Corporation
nanotechnology modeling
contact info & bio

Sushmita Sinha, PhD
Pathology
University of Iowa
autoimmune diseases, multiple sclerosis
contact info & bio

Joyce Solheim, PhD
Professor, Eppley Institute
University of Nebraska Medical Center
nanomedicine, pancreatic cancer, pediatric cancer
contact info & bio

Timothy Sullivan
President
Zeteo Biomedical, LLC
vaccine & pharmaceutical delivery devices
contact info & bio

Brett Sponseller, DVM, PhD
Veterinary Microbiology & Preventive Medicine
Iowa State University
immunology, virology
contact info & bio

Matthew Sylte, DVM, PhD, DACVM
Food Safety & Enteric Pathogens Unit
USDA National Animal Disease Center
mucosal immunology
contact info & bio

Adel Talaat, MVSc, PhD
Pathobiological Sciences
University of Wisconsin-Madison
mycobacterial pathogenesis
contact info & bio

Steven Varga, PhD
Microbiology
University of Iowa
pulmonary immunology
contact info & bio

Raffaele Vardavas, PhD
Mathematician
RAND Corporation
infectious disease modeling
contact info & bio

David Verhoeven, PhD
Veterinary Microbiology & Preventive Medicine
Iowa State University
immunology
contact info & bio

Amy Vincent, PhD
Veterinary Medical Science
USDA National Animal Disease Center
immunology, virology, animal models
contact info & bio

Qun Wang, PhD
Chemical & Biological Engineering
Iowa State University
biomaterials
contact info & bio

Thomas Waldschmidt, PhD
Pathology
University of Iowa
cell immunology
contact info & bio

Michael Wannemuehler, PhD
Veterinary Microbiology & Preventive Medicine
Iowa State University
immunology
contact info & bio

Richard Webby, PhD
Infectious Diseases
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
virology
contact info & bio