Professor Emeritus, Microbial Infection and Immunity
731 Biomedical Research Tower (BRT)
460 W 12th Ave, Columbus OH 43210
William.Lafuse@osumc.edu
614-366-1751
Membership: Infectious Diseases Institute, Emeritus Academy
Research Interests
Dr. Lafuse research Interests are the innate immune response to pathogens. The focus of the laboratory is on interaction of macrophages with intracellular pathogens, such as Dr. Lafuse research Interests are the innate immune response to pathogens. The focus of the laboratory is on interaction of macrophages with intracellular pathogens, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Leishmania donvani, and the role of cytokines, IL-1 and IFN-γ, in activating macrophages to resist growth of intracellular pathogens.
A second area interest is how pathogens modulate intracellular signaling pathways to inhibit activation of macrophages by cytokines. A third area of interest is iron metabolism and anemia that occurs during infections. Currently, the research in this area is anemia that occurs during visceral leishmanasis which is caused by infection with the parasite Leishmania donvani. The main focus of this research is on the role of IFN-γ and other cytokines produced during the infection in inhibiting production of red blood cells in the bone marrow.
Laboratory
736 Biomedical Research Tower (BRT)
460 W 12th Ave, Columbus OH 43210
614-293-1821