Tropical Medicine & Surgery

Fernando Villalta

Fernando Villalta
Chair and Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Meharry Medical College, USA

Biography

Dr. Fernando Villalta is Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Meharry Medical College. He is an expert in infectious diseases and immunity to protozoan parasites. He has published numerous scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals including book chapters in tropical medicine.

Research Interest

Dr. Villalta's research interests lies inTropical medicine, neglected tropical diseases, molecular mechanisms of innate and adaptive immunity. Molecular mechanisms of immunity to microbial infections. Vaccine development. Signaling mechanisms induced in immune cells by pathogen virulent molecules. Genomics and functional genomics in immunity. Systems biology of innate and acquire immunity. Gene network analysis and elucidation of interactomes in microbial immunity.Cellular and molecular basis of inflammation.Molecular basis of infectious diseases.Molecular mechanisms of microbial pathogenesis.Gene and drug discovery in infectious diseases and immunity.Systems biology of microbial infections.Cell-based functional genomics of microbial infections during host response.Microbial invasive genes and their receptor genes in immunopathogenesis.Gene targeting and gene regulation of microbial infections and immunity.Molecular mechanisms of immune evasion by pathogens.Structural biology of pathogen targets for intervention and innovative lead discovery strategies for tropical diseases.