Douglas Reed

I am an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh in the Center for Vaccine Research studying acute respiratory infections, particularly those that can cause severe disease such as avian influenza and COVID-19. My laboratory specializes in delivering viruses or bacteria by aerosol to animals, either to understand how the pathogen causes disease or to evaluate potential vaccines or therapies to see if they can protect against the disease. Using devices implanted in the animals, we can monitor how they respond to infection including whether they develop a fever. The hope is to translate the results of our studies to protection of humans. We work in a specialized facility designed to work as safely as possible with these viruses and bacteria. I have 20 years with of experience doing these kinds of studies, working for the Department of Defense at Fort Detrick before coming to Pittsburgh in 2008.