Girish Soorappa Kirimanjeswara, BVSc, MVSc, Ph.D.
- Associate Professor of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences
University Park, PA 16802
Areas of Expertise
- Immunologic mechanisms of Bordetella
- Pathogenesis of Francisella tularensis
- Host-pathogen interactions
- Development of BSL-3 research programs
Education
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Albany Medical College, New York
- PhD in Pathobiology, Penn State University, Pennsylvania
- MVSc in Biotechnology, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, India
- BVSc, Veterinary Sciences, Bangalore Veterinary College, Bangalore, India
Graduate Programs
- Pathobiology
- Immunology and Infectious Disease Emphasis Area, MCIBS
Centers
- Member of the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics (CIDD).
- Member of the Center for Molecular Immunology and Infectious Disease (CMIID).
Research
The Kirimanjeswara lab is focused on characterizing the virulence factors of bacterial pathogens such as Francisella tularensis and Bordetella pertusis, with the goal of developing vaccines. They are particularly interested in factor/s that affect specific innate immune responses, promote survival and replication within a host cell, and facilitate persistence in environment. In addition, they study defense mechanisms involved in initiating innate immune responses, specific cells involved in clearing the parasites and/or facilitating the restriction of parasites, and the influence of environmental factors on the outcome of a host-parasite interactions and bacterial infections.
Selected Publications
Place, D. E., Muse, S. J., Kirimanjeswara, G. S., Harvill, E. T. Caspase-1-independent interleukin 1β is required for clearance of Bordetella pertussin infections and whole-cell vaccine-mediated immunity. PLoS One. 2014 Sept. 8;9(9):e107188. DOI: 10.1371.
Gyorfi, J. R., Otteni, C., Brown, K., Patel, A., Lehman, K., Phillips, B. E., Dewan, K., Kirimanjeswara, G., Raman, J. D. Peri-procedural povidone-iodine rectal preparation reduces microorganism counts and infectious complications following ultrasound-guided needle biopsy of the prostate. World J Urol. 2014 Aug. 32(4):905-9. DOI: 10.1007/s00345-014-1291-8.
Furuya, Y., Kirimanjeswara, G. S., Roberts, S., Metzger, D. W. Increased susceptibility of IgA-deficient mice to pulmonary Francisella tularensis live vaccine strain infection. Infect Immun. 2013 Sept.; 81(9):3434-41.
Metzger, D. W., Salmon, S. L., Kirimanjeswara, G. Differing effects of interleukin-10 on cutaneous and pulmonary Francisella tularensis live vaccine strain infection. Infect Immun. 2013 June; 81(6):2022-7.
Kumar, D., Kirimanjeswara, G., Metzger, D. W. Intranasal administration of an inactivated Yersinia pestis vaccine with interleukin-12 generates protective immunity against pneumonic plague. Clin Vaccine Immunol. 2011 Nov.; 18(11):1925-35.
Hickey, A. J., Hazlett, K. R., Kirimanjeswara, G. S., Metzger, D. W. Identification of Francisella tularensis outer membrane protein A (FopA) as a protective antigen for tularemia. Vaccine. 2011 Sept. 16; 29(40):6941-7.
Henry, T., Kirimanjeswara, G. S., Ruby, T., Jones, J. W., Peng, K., Perret, M., Ho, L., Sauer, J. D., Iwakura, Y., Metzger, D. W., Monack, D. M. Type I IFN signaling constrains IL-17A/F secretion by gammadelta T cells during bacterial infections. J Immunol. 2010 Apr 1; 184(7):3755-67.