Molecular Microbiology and Immunology Announcements

Find announcements and news about the University of Missouri School of Medicine Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology.

2024

Onyekachi (Juliet) Okpasuo honored with Mizzou 18 award

Onyekachi (Juliet) Okpasuo, a student in the Molecular Microbiology and Immunology degree program receives the Mizzou 18 Award.

Read about the Mizzou 18 Awards

Jason Furrer awarded 2024 Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence

Jason Furrer, PhD, Associate Teaching Professor for Molecular Microbiology and Immunology received the William T. Kemper Fellowships for Teaching Excellence.

MD-PhD students awarded prestigious predoctoral fellowships

Brian Thomas and Cynthia Tang, both MD-PhD students were awarded prestigious NIH F30 predoctoral fellowships for their dissertation research. Thomas is a graduate student in the Molecular Pathogenesis and Therapeutics Program studying under Dr. Donald Burke-Aguero and Tang is a graduate student in the Data Science & Informatics program studying under Dr. Henry Wan. These students were the first MU students to receive this award from the NIH, which includes up to six years of funding.

Professors lead NIH-funded study

Drs. Emma Teixeiro-Pernas and Mark Daniels, Associate Professors of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology and investigators in the Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health building, led an NIH-funded study that was recently published in Nature Communications (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40107-1).

This study shows that it is possible to improve immunological memory against influenza by strengthening certain T cell signaling pathways – results that may lead to the development of more effective vaccines against influenza as well as other respiratory infections.

Read more about their success in these two Show Me Mizzou Articles.

PhD candidate participates in SEC Emerging Scholars Program

Dennis Perez-Lopez, a PhD candidate in the Molecular Pathogenesis and Therapeutics Graduate Program, was selected to participate in the SEC Emerging Scholars Program in recognition of the cutting-edge research he is performing in the laboratory of Dr. Chris Lorson.

See others who received this honor and to learn more.

Professor awarded $19.9 million

Dr. Paul de Figueiredo, a Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, was awarded $19.9 million by the US government ARPA-H Program for SPIKEs – Synthetic Programmable bacteria for Immune-directed Killing in tumor Environments. This research project will program bacteria to find tumors by sensing their metabolites and deliver therapeutic payloads to enhance immune-mediated killing of cancer cells. To learn more about ARPA-H and the awardees please visit: