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Bradford S McGwire

Assistant Professor-Division of Infectious Diseases, The Ohio State University

Bradford McGwire received is PhD in molecular parasitology in 1995 and his MD degree in 1997. From there he did a clinical-investigator track residency and fellowship in internal medicine and infectious diseases at the University of Illinois, Chicago-University of Chicago. He also did a postdoctoral fellowship in molecular parasitology at Northwestern University in Chicago working on Leishmania and trypanosomes. In 2004, he became a faculty member in the Division of Infectious Disease at The Ohio State University.

At The Ohio State University Dr. McGwire specializes in the diagnosis and management of Infectious Diseases. He also has also a basic science laboratory which studies the molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis of the protozoan parasites Leishmania and Trypanosoma cruzi. Specifically, his lab is interested in the interactions of innate immune effectors, antimicrobial peptides, with parasites and how these may influence the resistance or susceptibility to infection. His lab has identified two pathways by which these parasites can resist killing by certain peptides. One of these pathways involves the secreted peptidyl-prolyl isomerase (aka cyclophilin) which modulates anti-parasitic activity of the peptide and drives parasite infectivity through calcineurin activation. One current focus in the lab is to understand cyclophilin biosynthesis, secretion and enzymatic activity and how this relates to parasite infectivity and pathogenesis in Chagas disease. His lab is also interested in the mechanism by which parasite calcineurin is activated in this process. My lab is also interested in the effect of signal transducer of interferon (STAT-1) on the susceptibility of the host to T. cruzi infection. His findings indicate that in the absence of STAT-1, IL-17 mediated activation of neutrophil function is ineffective at clearing parasites and disease. His lab is interested in understanding the interrelationship between STAT-1 and IL-17 and how this contributes to T. cruzi infection.

Dr. McGwire is funded by the American Heart Association, The Fulbright Commission and The Ohio State University. He serves as Ad hoc reviewer for many scientific journals and is on the editorial board of Infection and Immunity. He has served on many national and international grant review panels. His other activities include teaching graduate, medical students and medical residents and infectious disease fellows both clinical and basic science topics in infectious disease and microbial pathogenesis.

Experience

  • –present
    Assistant Professor of Clinical Internal Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, The Ohio State University

Honours

Fulbright Scholar Award, 2013-2014