Researchers

Our diverse team of 70 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 27 faculty members come from 19 departments in five different colleges.

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

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

Adam Barb, PhD
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology
Iowa State University
glycobiology
contact info & bio

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

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

Rebecca Cademartiri, PhD
Materials Science & Engineering, Chemical & Biological Engineering
Iowa State University
bacteriophages
contact info & bio

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

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

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

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

Michael Dahlstrom, PhD
Greenlee School of Journalism & Communication
Iowa State University
science communication
contact info & bio

Thomas Dubensky, Jr., PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Aduro Biotech, Inc.
clinical trials
contact info & bio

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

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

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

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

Jesse Hostetter, DVM, PhD
Veterinary Pathology
Iowa State University
pathology
contact info & bio

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

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

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

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

Marian Kohut, PhD
Kinesiology
Iowa State University
immunology
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

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

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

Surya Mallapragada, PhD
Chemical & Biological Engineering
Iowa State University
micelles
contact info & bio

Brian Martin, PhD
Director, Infectious Disease Division
BioProtection Systems/NewLink Genetics
antigen design, cGMP, clinical trials
contact info & bio

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

Jodi McGill, PhD
Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology
Kansas State University
respiratory pathogens in cattle
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

Chris Minion, PhD
Veterinary Microbiology & Preventive Medicine
Iowa State University
microbiology
contact info & bio

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

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

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

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

Lori Parsons, MSN, RN
Executive Director
Iowa Immunization Coalition
public health policy, vaccination promotion
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

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

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

Yashdeep Phanse, PhD
Pathobiological Sciences
University of Wisconsin-Madison
immunology
contact info & bio

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

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

Wilson Rumbeiha, DVM, PhD, DABVT, DABT
Vet Diagnostic & Production Animal Med
Iowa State University
toxicology
contact info & bio

W. Jay Ramsey, MD, PhD
Clinical & Regulatory Compliance Officer
NewLink Genetics
antigen design, cGMP, clinical trials
contact info & bio

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

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

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

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

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

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

Joyce Solheim, PhD
Professor, Eppley Institute
University of Nebraska Medical Center
immunotherapies for pancreatic, breast cancers
contact info & bio

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

Brett Sponseller, DVM, PhD
Veterinary Clinical Sciences
Iowa State University
immunology, virology
contact info & bio

Timothy Sullivan
President & CEO
Mystic Pharmaceuticals
delivery device design
contact info & bio

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

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

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

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

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

David Verhoeven, PhD
Biomedical Sciences
Iowa State University
immunology
contact info & bio

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

Chong Wang, PhD
Veterinary Diagnostic & Production Animal Medicine, Statistics
Iowa State University
biostatistics
contact info & bio

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

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

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

Edward Yu, PhD
Chemistry, Physics & Astronomy
Iowa State University
membrane proteins
contact info & bio

Weizhou Zhang, PhD
Pathology
University of Iowa
breast cancer
contact info & bio