Suzanne
M. Michalek, Ph.D.
Professor of Microbiology
Phone: 205-934-3470
Dr. Michalek received her Bachelor’s
degree in
biology from Illinois State
University in 1967. She went on to earn her Master’s, also in biology
at Illinois State University, in 1968. She then came to the University
of Alabama at Birmingham, where she received her Ph.D. in Microbiology in
1976. After a postdoctoral fellowship in the Laboratory of
Microbiology and Immunology, NIDR, at the National Institutes of Health, Dr.
Michalek joined the UAB faculty in 1979 and is
currently Professor in the Department of Microbiology (School of Medicine)
and the Department of Oral Biology (School of Dentistry), Director of the
Research Center in Oral Biology, and a Senior Scientist in many UAB Centers.
Dr. Michalek's research
focuses on the induction and regulation of IgA responses, the development of
oral vaccines for mucosal pathogens, T cell regulatory networks in the
mucosal immune system and mucosal inflammation,
and the role of co-stimulatory pathways, Toll-like receptors and cell
signaling pathways in mucosal pathogen-host interactions.
Selected Publications
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Michalek,
S.M., McGhee, J.R., Mestecky, J., Arnold, R.R. and Bozzo, L. Ingestion of
Streptococcus mutans induces secretory IgA and caries immunity. Science 192:1238-1240, 1976.
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Hirschfeld,
M., Weis, J.J., Toshchakov, V.,
Salkowski, C.A., Cody, M.J., Ward, D.C.,
Qureshi, N., Michalek,
S.M. and Vogel, S.N. Signaling by toll-like receptor 2 and 4
agonists results in differential gene expression
in murine macrophages. Infect. Immun.
69:1477-1482, 2001.
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Martin, M., Katz, J., Vogel, S.N. and
Michalek,
S.M. Differential induction of endotoxin tolerance by
lipopolysaccharides derived from
Porphyromonas gingivalis and
Escherichia coli. J.
Immunol. 167:5278-5285, 2001.
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Martin, M., Sharpe, A., Clements, J.D. and
Michalek, S.M. Role of B7 co-stimulatory molecules in the
adjuvant activity of the heat-labile enterotoxin
of Escherichia coli. J. Immunol.
169:1744-1752, 2002.
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Zhang, P.,
Jespersgaard, C.,
Lamberty-Mallory, L., Huang, Y., Katz, J. and
Michalek, S.M. Enhanced
immunogenicity of a genetic chimeric protein consisting of two virulent antigens of
Streptococcus mutans and protection against
infection. Infect. Immun. 70:
6779-6787, 2002.
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Dobrovolskaia,
M.A., Medvedev, A.E., Thomas, K.E.,
Cuesta, N., Toshchakov,
V., Ren, Tianbo,
Cody, M.J., Michalek, S.M., Rice, N.R. and
Vogel, S.N. Induction of in vitro reprogramming by toll-like receptor
(TLR)2 and TLR4 agonists in murine macrophages:
effects of TLR “homotolerance” versus “heterotolerance”
on NF-kB
signaling pathway components. J. Immunol.
170:508-519, 2003.
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Martin, M.,
Schifferle, R.E., Cuesta, N., Vogel, S.N., Katz, J. and
Michalek, S.M. Role of the P13 kinases-Akt
pathway in the regulation of IL-10 and IL-12 by Porphyromonas
gingivalis
lipopolysaccharide. J. Immunol.
171: 717-725, 2003.
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Zhang,
P., Martin, M., Yang, Q-B., Michalek,
S.M. and Katz, J. Role of B7 costimulatory
molecules in immune responses and T-helper cell differentiation to
recombinant HagB from Prophyromonas
gingivalis. Infect. Immun. 72:637-644, 2004.
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Zhang, P., Martin, M.,
Michalek, S.M. and Katz,
J. Role of mitogen-activated protein
kinases and NF-κB in the regulation of proinflammatory and
anti-inflammatory cytokines by Porphyromonas
gingivalis
Hemagglutinin
B. Infect. Immun. 73:3990-3998, 2005.
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Martin, M., Rehani, K., Jope, R.S. and
Michalek,
S.M. Toll-like receptor-mediated cytokine production is differentially
regulated by glycogen synthase kinase-3. Nat. Immunol. 6:777-784, 2005.