The UTSA researchers are members of a newly established UTSA South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases comprised of 16 faculty in the study of infectious diseases.
"We are proud to be recognized nationally as one of the leading institutions in the fight against bioterrorism and we anticipate more of these collaborative grants in the future," said Ricardo Romo, UTSA President. "We will continue to recruit more noted faculty and upgrade our facilities in support of our goal to become a premier research university."
Klose and UTSA researchers Bernard Arulanandam, Judy Teale, and University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio researcher Mike Berton will study and identify safe effective vaccine candidates to provide long term immunity against tularemia.
Tularemia is considered a life threatening bioterrorism agent by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). In most cases, it causes relatively benign fever, chills, and headaches that can be treated with antibiotics. However, when spread by aerosol, tularemia can cause severe respiratory illness and systemic infections and is associated with a 30-40 percent mortality rate.
"We are going to learn what makes this organism tick and what strategies it uses to evade immune responses and eventually kill its host," said Klose.
While Klose is concentrating on understanding how Franciscella tularensis causes tularemia, UTSA immunologist Bernard Arulanandam hopes to characterize and identify mechanisms that could lead to long term immunity. Teale and Berton are focusing on early responses when tularemia enters the body.
"My research focuses on defining the later-term adaptive immune responses to each vaccine candidate, specifically focusing on the characteristics of T-cell protection," said Arulanandam.
Research on the deadly pathogen is being conducted in a new biosafety level three laboratory (BSL3) at UTSA, a secure, access controlled facility requiring CDC certification and government security personnel clearances. Another larger BSL3 laboratory will soon open on campus allowing more researchers to collaborate on future grants.
The University of Texas at San Antonio is the premier institute of higher education in South Texas and one of the fastest growing universities in the state. Serving 27,000 students enrolled in 58 undergraduate, 42 masters and 13 doctoral programs, UTSA, at 36 years-of-age, is the second-largest component in The University of Texas System. An institution of access and excellence, UTSA is committed to research and discovery, teaching and learning, and public service.