Praveen Alamuri.

I graduated from UGA in May of 2006 with a doctorate degree under the guidance of Dr. Rob Maier. From the hot and humid GA I moved to a freezing Michigan in May 2006 to work as a Post-doc with Dr. Harry Mobley at the University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor. There I worked on Type V secretion system in the uropathogen Proteus mirabilis. I initiated this field of research in the Mobley lab and was the first to establish this system in P. mirabilis. The Ph.D training I received in at UGA in both molecular biology and biochemistry research, proved highly instrumental in my post-doctoral research. I discovered a novel toxin in the Type V secretion system and identified its significance in the pathogenesis of P. mirabilis infection. I also showed that that the toxoid form induces a protective immune response in mice to protect against virulent Proteus challenge. Thus my research led to the discovery of a protective surface antigen in this pathogen. I presented my research at the 2007 and 2008 ASM annual meetings in Toronto and in Boston, respectively. The studies were published in Molecular Microbiology (2008) and Infection and Immunity (2009). In the fall of 2008 I assumed the role of Project Manager at the Center of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology at The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University. Here I coordinate the vaccine development research for Dr. Roy Curtiss III, Director of CIDV. I supervise research efforts to develop Salmonella-mediated vaccine delivery systems to protect against influenza virus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Yersinia pestis. My team includes 7 post-docs and 5 technicians. I work with them in preparation of publications, writing and submission of grants to the NIH, and in patent applications. So far it has been a very satisfying experience to be in the area of research management in an academic setting. In the next three years we plan to begin Y. pestis vaccine clinical trials, and I look forward to this new experience of collaborating with both NIH and the FDA. My job at The Biodesign Institute has provided me with the experience and profile to establish myself in the field of research management.