Rolla E. Dyer Lecture

Established in 1950 in honor of former NIH Director Rolla E. Dyer, M.D., a noted authority on infectious diseases, this lectureship, now part of the Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series, features internationally renowned researchers who have contributed substantially to medical as well as biological knowledge of infectious diseases. The Dyer Lecture is the oldest continuous lecture series at the NIH.

Obligate Symbionts and Other Intriguing Members of Human Microbiomes

Jill Banfield, Ph.D.
University of California, Berkeley

Rolla E. Dyer Lecture

From the speaker: "The application of cultivation independent genomics-based methods to human and animal microbiomes has uncovered bacteria from lineages not represented in culture collections and provided clues as to their metabolic capacities. There is now sufficient genomic sampling to begin to ask questions about how often bacteria from these groups migrate from the natural environment into human microbiomes, from where, what is involved in habitat transition and when metabolic changes occurred.

Toward Personalization of HIV Treatment and Prevention

Namandjé N. Bumpus, Ph.D.
John Hopkins Medicine

Rolla E. Dyer Lecture

(This will be a hybrid lecture, in person at Lipsett Amphitheather and on NIH VideoCast.) Antiretroviral therapy has markedly reduced morbidity and mortality for persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Individual tailoring of antiretroviral regimens has the potential to further improve the long-term management of HIV through the mitigation of treatment failure and drug-induced toxicities.

Phage Therapy to Combat Infections by Antibiotic-Resistant Bacterial Pathogens

Paul E. Turner, Ph.D.
Yale University School of Medicine

Rolla E. Dyer Lecture

Increasing prevalence and severity of multi-drug-resistant bacterial infections require novel management strategies. One possible strategy is a renewed approach to ‘phage therapy,’ where these administered viruses not only kill the target bacteria, but also predictably select for phage resistance that reduces virulence and/or increases antibiotic sensitivity (evolutionary trade-offs).

Deep and Wide: The Voyage to Discover Local and Global Health Equity

Lisa A. Cooper, M.D., M.P.H.
Johns Hopkins University

Rolla E. Dyer Lecture

Dr. Cooper’s research at Johns Hopkins University has focused on the crisis of inequity in medical care. Dr. Cooper was one of the first scientists to document disparities in the quality of relationships between physicians and patients from socially at-risk groups. A recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” Award, she has designed innovative interventions targeting physicians’ communication skills, patients’ self-management skills, and healthcare organizations’ ability to address needs of populations experiencing health disparities. Dr.

Microbial networking (…it’s like Tinder for bugs)

Elodie Ghedin, Ph.D.
New York University

Rolla E. Dyer Lecture

Research in the Ghedin Lab meets at the interface of microbiology, genomics, and systems biology. Projects touch on the extent of intra- and inter-host microparasite (viruses and bacteria) diversity within the context of transmission and virulence, and parse the relationship between microbial ecology in the respiratory tract and disease progression.

Sensing from within: how the immune system discriminates friend from foe

Katherine A. Fitzgerald, Ph.D.
University of Massachusetts Medical School

Rolla E. Dyer Lecture

The Fitzgerald lab is focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms controlling the inflammatory response. We are interested in determining how the immune system discriminates between pathogens, resident microflora and host molecules to both protect the host from infection and avoid damaging inflammatory diseases. We employ multifaceted approaches including immunology, biochemistry, molecular biology and genetics to understand these mechanisms.

The primary shield: role of our microbes in health and diseases

Yasmine Belkaid, Ph.D.
National Institute of Health, NIAID

Rolla E. Dyer Lecture

Dr. Belkaid work explores the field of immune regulation and has defined fundamental mechanisms that regulate tissue homeostasis and host immune responses. Her work uncovered key roles for the commensal microbiota and dietary factors in the maintenance of tissue immunity and protection to pathogens.

SPECIAL TUESDAY LECTURE – Functional dynamics of the gut microbiome in health and disease

Claire Fraser, Ph.D.
University of Maryland School of Medicine

Rolla E. Dyer Lecture

Current research interests are focused on characterization of the structure and function of the microbial communities that are found in the human environment, as part of the NIH-funded Human Microbiome Project, including projects specifically focused on obesity, metabolic syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, the interactions between the human immune response and the gut microbiome, and the impact of probiotics on the structure and function of the intestinal microbiome.

The mammalian virome in genetic analysis of health and disease pathogenesis

Herbert W. Virgin, IV, M.D., Ph.D.
Washington University School of Medicine

Rolla E. Dyer Lecture

Disease occurs in only some people carrying risk alleles, a phenomenon that may well be due in part to the influence of our virome. Chronic virus infection of mice protects the host against cancer and infection through symbiotic stimulation of innate immunity, and can complement multiple genetic immunodeficiencies. The virome may contribute to individual variations in the clinical presentation of disease. However, persistent viruses can also trigger “virus-plus-susceptibility-gene” interactions leading to bacteria-dependent inflammatory disease.

Antiviral defense mechanisms at the mucosal surfaces

Akiko Iwasaki, Ph.D.
Yale School of Medicine

Rolla E. Dyer Lecture

Research over the past two decades has led to the fundamental understanding that initiation of immune responses to infectious microorganisms relies on pathogen recognition by innate microbial sensors, collectively known as pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). PRRs fall into several families, each of which recognizes distinct pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Stimulating PRRs results in transcriptional activation of genes involved in innate defense as well as those that activate antigen-presenting cells for successful priming of “adaptive” T- and B-cell responses.

This page was last updated on Friday, May 20, 2022