Skip to main content

Exploring host-pathogen interactions and immunological mechanisms.

Upcoming Seminars and Events

News and Publications

Recent Publications

Emergence, climate-driven expansion, and diversification of a European Vibrio vulnificus lineage (L4) with multi-host pathogenic potential.

Carmona-Salido H, Salvador-Clavell R, Jäckel C, Schulze I, Satchell KJF, Hammerl JA, Amaro C.

Emerg Microbes Infect. 2026 Dec;15(1):2601370. doi: 10.1080/22221751.2025.2601370. Epub 2025 Dec 23.

Species-specific gB ectodomain interactions and cytoplasmic domain stability regulate herpes simplex virus fusion.

Fan Q, Longnecker R, Connolly SA.

mBio. 2026 Jan 14;17(1):e0342425. doi: 10.1128/mbio.03424-25. Epub 2025 Dec 5.

N(6)-methyladenosine modification of RNA is regulated by senataxin and E6 to control HPV replication.

Templeton CW, Laimins LA.

Cell Rep. 2026 Jan 9;45(1):116828. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2025.116828. Online ahead of print.

Altering chemotaxis as a strategy to enhance the foraging range of motility-restricted bacteria.

Frederick A, Lopes C, Fulton B, Huang Y, Podicheti R, Rusch D, Minasov G, Shuvalova L, Satchell KJF, Rowe-Magnus DA.

Commun Biol. 2026 Jan 6. doi: 10.1038/s42003-025-09475-w. Online ahead of print.

Return-to-Sport Recommendations in Athletes Requiring Cervical Spine Surgery: A Modified Delphi Consensus Survey of Expert Opinion.

Zuckerman SL, White M, Rigney GH, Jo J, Bailes JE, Bonfield CM, Cantu RC, Chan PCH, Cordover AM, Coric D, Feuer H, Gardocki RJ, Hecht AC, Hsu WK, Joseph JR, Lehman RA Jr, Levi AD, Liew SM, Louie PK, Ludwig SC, Maroon J, Miele VJ, Mullin J, Nemani VM, Phillips FM, Qureshi S, Riew KD, Rogers MA, Sasso RC, Smith GA, Turner JD, Vaccaro AR, Watkins RG 4th, Theodore N, Okonkwo DO, Sills AK, Davis GA.

Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2026 Jan 1;51(1):16-24. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0000000000005464. Epub 2025 Aug 21.

What We Do

The Department of Microbiology-Immunology is a basic science department at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Our dedicated faculty are leaders in bacteriology, virology and immunology, and are committed to training the next generation of scientists, including students and postdoctoral fellows.

Research

We examine pathogen-host cell interactions and dissect the molecular mechanisms involved in regulation of the immune response. 

EXPLORE OUR AREAS OF FOCUS

Education

Our faculty members also teach undergraduate, graduate and medical students at Northwestern University and Feinberg.

SEE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

Center for Structural Biology of Infectious Diseases

The Center for Structural Biology of Infectious Diseases (CSBID) is a consortium of laboratories using state-of-the-art, high-throughput structural biology methods to determine the three-dimensional structures of protein targets from pathogens in the NIAID Category A-C priority lists and organisms causing emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.

VISIT THE CSBID SITE

Basic Science Administration

Our department is supported by the Basic Science Administration group. The team provides assistance related to research and financial administration, professional affairs, facilities and communications.

VISIT BASIC SCIENCE ADMINISTRATION SITE

Research Resources

We offer a wide range of resources, mentorship opportunities and training to help our residents and fellows excel as physician-scientists. Explore all of the resources and hear from housestaff who are making research a major part of their career development plans.

VISIT THE Starzl Academy Site

Health Equity

Our vision is to make Northwestern, our communities, all communities, our lives and the world a better place — with everyone having the chance and responsibility for reaching their own pinnacle of health.

Visit the Office of Health Equity

MD students see patients as part of the Education-Centered Medical Home program.