Williamson Research Group

Cell Biology and Immunology of Fungal Infections

Photo of the Williamson Research Group

Front row: Seher Anjum, Jin Qiu, Yoon-Dong Park, Jessica Hargarten, Nannan Zhang. Back row: Terri Scott, Waleed Elsegeiny, Kenneth Ssebambulidde, Peter Williamson, Guowu Hu

Peter Williamson, M.D., Ph.D.

Chief, Translational Mycology Section

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Provides direct clinical care to patients at NIH Clinical Center

Education:

M.D., Ph.D., 1987, Boston University, Boston, MA

Dr. Williamson received his M.D./Ph.D. from Boston University in 1987 and completed a residency in internal medicine at Georgetown University before coming to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a fellowship in infectious diseases. In 1995, after serving a short stint as chief medical officer, Lalmba Sudan, Dr. Williamson joined the faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago as an...

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Seher H. Anjum, M.D.

Staff Clinician

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Specialty(s): Infectious Disease, Internal Medicine
Provides direct clinical care to patients at NIH Clinical Center

Education:

M.D., 2010, Kasturba Medical College, India

Seher Anjum MD is a Staff Clinician within the Translational Mycology Section of the Laboratory of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology (LCIM) at NIAID, NIH. She obtained an M.D. from Kasturba Medical College, India in 2010 after which she completed an internal medicine residency at the University of Missouri, Kansas City followed by an Infectious Disease fellowship at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX.

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Waleed A. Elsegeiny, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow

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Education:

Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

B.S., Louisiana State University

Languages Spoken: Arabic

Our clinical study focuses on non-HIV individuals that acquire an opportunistic infection of Cryptococcus. Over 30% of patients tested were positive for anti-GMCSF autoantibodies in blood plasma. One function of GM-CSF is the inhibition of autophagy in monocytes/macrophages, which we observed enhances their sensitivity to antigen, cytokine production, and intrinsic fungicidal activity.

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Jessica C. Hargarten, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral IRTA Fellow

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Education:

Ph.D., Biological Sciences, 2016, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
B.S., Biological Sciences, 2009, University of California, Davis

Jessica’s research in the TMS focuses on understanding how rare genetic variants (in MTOR, GPR35, and CXCR6) increase the susceptibility of previously healthy people to fungal infections, particularly those caused by the neurotropic pathogen Cryptococcus. Ongoing experiments using mouse models of disease and clinical samples will further determine the role of these genes in immunity and...

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Guowu Hu, Ph.D.

Biologist

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Languages Spoken: Chinese

My research interests focus on the role of autophagy in the pathogenesis of fungal infectious diseases in human.

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Yoon-Dong Park, Ph.D.

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Education:

Ph.D., Chungnam National University

Languages Spoken: Korean

The aim of my research is the study of molecular mechanisms of virulence in fungal infectious diseases to elucidate novel therapeutic approaches for prevention and treatment. My recent research focus is to find a biomarker of cryptococcal meningitis and use it for therapy by comparing the gene expression of meningitis and pneumonia.

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Jin Qiu, M.D., Ph.D.

Biological Scientist; Lab Manager

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Education:

M.D., Ph.D., Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi; Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing; Peking Union Medical College, Beijing.

Languages Spoken: Chinese

Focuses on pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and epidemiology of mycoses, particularly cryptococcosis and candidiasis. Try to demonstrate a role for MUC16/CA125 in the initial adhesion events in vascular kidney endothelial cells and a potential role for serum measurements as a marker of outcome in human fungal infections.

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Terri L. Scott, MSN, CRNP-F

Nurse Practitioner

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Education:

MSN Family Nurse Practitioner, Chamberlain University

Support the Translational Mycology Section by evaluating patients enrolled on our natural history protocol in an outpatient setting. Contribute to research by compiling clinical data for publications.

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Kenneth Ssebambulidde, MBChB, M.Sc

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Education:

M.Sc., Immunology of Infectious Diseases, 2019, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

MBChB, 2015 Makerere University, College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda

Languages Spoken: Luganda

I am a clinician with special interest in immune-mediated etiopathogenesis of diseases including a link between communicable and non-communicable diseases. I am a visiting postdoc fellow under the African Postdoctoral Training Initiative (APTI) program. Currently in Dr Williamson’s lab, I am working on understanding the role of CD151, a cell membrane tetraspanin, in the pathogenesis of...

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Malcolm J. Vaughan

Research Support Specialist

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Education:

B.S., Biological Sciences

I primarily assist with the various animal studies and colony management within the lab. The other project I work on is testing the efficacy of treatment cochleates in cells and animal studies.

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Nannan Zhang, Ph.D.

Biologist

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Education:

Ph.D., Biology, Johns Hopkins University

M.S., Biochemistry and molecular biology, Dalian Medical University

B.S., Clinical Medicine, Dalian Medical University

Languages Spoken: Chinese

Working on an RNA biology project related to cryptococcal infection and autoimmune diseases. It involves exploring functions of a RNA helicase, DDX6 in fungal infection and naïve T cell polarization.

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