COBRE Center for Applied Immunology and Pathological Processes

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NIH/NIGHMS Center of Biomedical Research Excellence
Center for Applied Immunology and Pathological Processes

LSU Health Shreveport received a 5 year grant in 2021 from the National Institute of Health (NIH) to establish a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence, or COBRE. The COBRE funds established the Center for Applied Immunology and Pathological Processes (CAIPP), which operates on the LSU Health Shreveport campus. 

The Phase 2 renewal in 2026 reflects the success of CAIPP during its first funding cycle. During the initial cycle, the center provided access to critical core research infrastructure and successfully mentored junior research faculty into independently funded scientists. Under the leadership of Dr. Andrew D. Yurochko, Professor and Carroll Feist Endowed Chair of Viral Oncology, Vice Chair of Microbiology and Immunology and CAIPP Director, the program has significantly expanded LSUHS’s research capacity in immunology.

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“This program has allowed us to take early-career scientists and develop them into independently funded investigators. Every one of our Phase 1 research project leaders has gone on to secure their own NIH funding, which is exactly what the COBRE program is designed to achieve. It builds a sustainable pipeline for scientific talent.” 
- Dr. Andrew Yurochko

   

CAIPP COBRE GOALS

► The first major goal of the COBRE award is to establish a research center focused on the important discipline of Immunology.  This is a critical area of research that is important to vaccine development and the development of new treatment options for the elimination of drug resistant viruses and bacteria, as well as for the development of new therapies for treatments of various cancers and cardiovascular diseases. 

► The second major goal of the center is to recruit to and retain new talented research and clinical faculty at the LSU Health Shreveport campus and through this new recruitment to expand this exciting and important research discipline and gain national and international prominence for the Center for Applied Immunology and Pathological Processes. 

► The last major goal of the award is to develop robust new infrastructure that encourages statewide collaboration and the growth of new research within the state.

   

How COBRE is Changing Research Careers at LSU Health Shreveport

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At LSU Health Shreveport, the Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) are transforming the future of scientific discovery and the careers of the researchers behind it. With two active COBRE Programs: the Center for Redox Biology & Cardiovascular Disease and the Center for Applied Immunology and Pathological Processes, LSUHS is advancing research, while supporting our researchers. Through access to advanced core facilities, vital research funding, and hands-on mentorship, COBRE supports early-career scientists as they develop independent research programs, secure major NIH grants, and tackle some of the most pressing health challenges of our time.

   

Key Contributors

LSU Health Shreveport has assembled investigators with advanced knowledge and research expertise across several departments to address immunology. Key senior faculty that played an essential role in the awarding of this application and will continue to contribute to the center through their role as Directors of the cores within the center:

  • Dr. Andrew D. Yurochko, Professor and Carroll Feist Endowed Chair of Viral Oncology; Department Vice-Chair of Microbiology and Immunology, and Director of the Center of Excellence for Emerging Viral Threats is the principal investigator for the grant and will be the Director of the new center.
  • Dr. Rona S. Scott, Professor and Mingyu Ding Professor of Microbiology and Immunology; 
  • Dr. Matthew D. Woolard, Professor and O'Callaghan Family Endowed Professor in Microbiology and Immunology;

Key faculty involved in the Phase II research components of the center:

  • Dr. Rohit Jangra, Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
  • Dr. Stephanie Ander, Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
  • Dr. Taichiro Nonaka, Assistant Professor of Cellular Biology and Anatomy
  • Dr. Jason Comer, Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology and Dr. Richard J. Courtney Endowed Professor in Virology

Key faculty involved in the Phase I research components of thecenter:

  • Dr. Xiaohong Lu, Associate Professor of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Neuroscience;
  • Dr. Ana-Maria Dragoi, Associate Professor in Molecular and Cellular Physiology;
  • Dr. Monica Cartelle Gestal, Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
  • Dr. Rohit Jangra, Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
  • Dr. Hongyan Guo, Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
  • Dr. Jason Comer, Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
  • Dr. Stephen DiGiuseppe, Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology (Univ of LA- Monroe)
  • Dr. Sadiya Parveen-Nesson, Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
  • Dr. Krista Rodgers, Associate Professor of Cellular Biology and Anatomy

 

Latest News from CAIPP

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The Center for Applied Immunology and Pathological Processes (CAIPP) is supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number P20GM134974.

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