Division Leadership
Ryan O’Connell joined our faculty in 2011 and is now a Professor of Pathology and holds the John M. Matsen Presidential Endowed Chair. Dr. O’Connell is recognized nationally for his contributions to the field of non-coding RNAs in immune regulation, and has a strong commitment to training graduate students and postdocs. In 2016 Dr. O’Connell shepherded the formation and success of the institutional 3i initiative, and more recently he has worked to help establish the MAGIC (Microbiota and Gastrointestinal Immunology Consortium) Center. Dr. O’Connell is currently focused on leadership of the M&I Division in his role as Division Chief.
Hans Haecker joined our faculty in 2019 as Professor of Pathology, following his tenure at the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital from 2005-2019. He is internationally recognized for his research on innate immunity, inflammation, and drug discovery. Dr. Haecker is passionate about mentoring and training the next generation of scientists. He now serves as the Director of Graduate Studies for the Microbiology & Immunology graduate program. Dr. Haecker has held key leadership roles, including chair of the Departmental Advisory Committee for faculty promotions and director of the flagship Basic Immunology course. He is co-founder of the diagnostics company NanoSpot.ai, reflecting his broader commitment to translating research into impactful real-world applications.
Gianna Hammer joined in 2022, having moved her lab from Duke University. Dr. Hammer has been named a Pew Scholar, a V scholar for Cancer Research, and a Burroughs Welcome Fund Investigator in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease. Dr. Hammer’s key mentoring philosophies comes from her own PhD mentor, who firmly held that “everybody must be trained”. This philosophy fuels Dr. Hammer’s commitment to provide opportunities for new scientists to grow. Dr. Hammer fosters this in her lab and in her national service, which include AAI’s diversity initiatives, and the Damon Runyan Postdoctoral Fellowship committee.
Research Focus for our Microbiology and Immunology Labs
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Host Pathogen Interactions |
Evavold, Fairfax, Hale, Hammer, Johnson, Lamb, Leung, Planelles, Roy, Weis, Williams |
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Microbiome |
Matt Bettini, Haecker, Hammer, O’Connell, Round, Stephens |
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Molecular Microbiology |
Carey, Johnson, Round, Planelles |
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Autoimmunity |
Maria Bettini, Matt Bettini, Jensen, Evavold, Haecker, Lo, Petrey, Tantin, Young, Weis, Weller |
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Mucosal Immunology |
Matt Bettini, Hammer, Petrey, O’Connell, Round, Stephens |
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Tumor Immunology |
Matt Bettini, Hammer, O’Connell, Reeves, Round, Williams, Young |
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Inflammation |
Campbell, Haecker, Hammer, Leung, Lo, O’Connell, Petrey, Rondina, Zhu |
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Neuroimmunology |
Evavold, Hammer, Lamb, O’Connell, Round, Tantin, Zhu |
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Drug Discovery and Vaccine Development |
Haecker, Hale, Roy, Williams |
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Immune Development |
Beaudin, Fairfax, Matt Bettini, Haecker, Roy, Tantin |
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Immunoinformatics |
Hale, Lamb, Stephens |
Microbiology and Immunology Faculty
Research: T cell biology and metabolism; Regulatory T cells; Autoimmunity
Research: Mycobacteria; Antibiotic resistance; Advanced genomic screening technologies
Research: Biophysical parameters of TCR activation; T cell function in infection and autoimmunity; Neuroimmunology
Research: Maternal impact on immune system development; Immune response to parasitic infections; Chronic infection and autoimmunity
keke.fairfax@path.utah.edu
Research: TLR signaling; Inflammatory diseases; Hematopoiesis; Drug development
hans.haecker@path.utah.edu
Research: T cell memory; Thelper differentiation; Epigenetic programming
scott.hale@path.utah.edu
Research: Trained immunity, gut, liver fibrosis, gut-brain, innate and adaptive responses to pathogens and microbiome, Colorectal cancer
gianna.hammer@path.utah.edu
Research: Antigen processing and presentation; Non-classical class I MHC molecules
Research: Host-pathogen interactions; Parasitic, viral and bacterial pathogens; Neuroimmunology
Research: Biophysical parameters of TCR activation; CD8 T cells in autoimmunity
Research: T cell receptor signaling; Ligand discrimination
Research: Mucosal immunology; miRNA; IBD; Colorectal cancer
ryan.oconnell@path.utah.edu
Research: IBD; extracellular matrix and inflammation; Platelet biology
aaron.petrey@path.utah.edu
Research: HIV latency; Host-pathogen interactions
vicente.planelles@path.utah.edu
Research: Tumor heterogeneity; Anti-tumor T cells; Tumor microenvironment
melissa.reeves@hci.utah.edu
Research: Microbiota role in gastrointestinal and neurological diseases; Metabolism
june.round@path.utah.edu
Research: B cell fate decisions; B cell responses in infections
koushik.roy@path.utah.edu
Research: Veterinary medicine; Gnotobiotic mouse models
Alton.Swennes@utah.edu
Research: Transcriptional regulation of T cell responses; Autoimmunity; Cancer
dean.tantin@path.utah.edu
Research: Infection induced inflammatory disorders; Lyme disease
janis.weis@path.utah.edu
Research: T cell memory; T cell receptor; viral infections; Anti-tumor immunity
matt.williams@path.utah.edu
Research: Checkpoint inhibitor induced autoimmunity; Anti-tumor immunity
arabella.young@hci.utah.edu
Research: Transcriptional regulation of T cell development; Antigen presentation
Research: Biophysical parameters of TCR activation; Dietary effects on T cell membrane
Research: HIV latency; Host-pathogen interactions
laura.martins@path.utah.edu
Research: TLR signaling; Inflammatory diseases; Hematopoiesis; Drug development
vanessa.redecke@path.utah.edu
Research: Host-microbe interactions; Microbial ecology; Genomics
zac.stephens@path.utah.edu
Research: Gene regulation; Non-coding RNA
warren.voth@path.utah.edu
Research: Membrane trafficking; Iron metabolism
diane.mcveyward@path.utah.edu
Research: Epitope processing and presentation; Autoimmunity
zemin.zhou@path.utah.edu
Adjunct Faculty Participating in PhD Program
Research: Fetal hematopoiesis; Immune development; Disease susceptibility across lifespan
Anna.Beaudin@hsc.utah.edu
Research: MAIT cells in mucosal infections; Co-infections; Global health; Human immunology
Daniel.Leung@utah.edu
Research: Endogenous retroviruses; Autoimmunity; Sjogren’s; Oral health
Melodie.Weller@hsc.utah.edu
Research: Vascular stability; Inflammation; Arthritis; Sepsis
weiquan.zhu@u2m2.utah.edu
Non-PhD Participating Adjunct Faculty
Research: Mechanisms underpinning inflammation-induced thrombosis
Research: Skeletal muscle in age and disease recovery
micah.drummond@hsc.utah.edu
Research: Phytodrugs as dietary supplements; Herbal medicine
Elena.Enioutina@hsc.utah.edu
Research: MDSCs; Anti-tumor immunity
suzanne.ostrand-rosenberg@path.utah.edu
Research: Male infertility and Peyronie’s disease
Alexander.Pastuszak@utah.edu
Research: Inflammation; Platelet biology; Immunothrombosis
matthew.rondina@hsc.utah.edu
Research: Antiretroviral therapy; HIV latency
adam.spivak@hsc.utah.edu
Research: EBV and susceptibility to cancer
sankar.swaminathan@hsc.utah.edu
Research: Biofilms; Implant infection; Antibiotic development; Biomaterials
dustin.williams@utah.edu
Research: Vascular stability; Inflammation; Arthritis; Sepsis
weiquan.zhu@u2m2.utah.edu
