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College of Medicine: Department of Microbiology and Immunology
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  • Faculty
    • Primary Faculty
      • Jon Blevins, Ph.D.
      • Youssef Aachoui, Ph.D.
      • Karl Boehme, Ph.D.
      • Martin Cannon, Ph.D.
      • Mohamed O. Elasri, Ph.D.
      • Craig Forrest, Ph.D.
      • Lu Huang, Ph.D.
      • Clay Jackson-Litteken, Ph.D.
      • Lin-Xi Li, Ph.D.
      • Matthew Jorgenson, Ph.D.
      • Chia Lee, Ph.D.
      • Jia Liu, Ph.D.
      • Mark Manzano, Ph.D.
        • Manzano Lab
          • Team
          • Publications
          • News
          • Virology Lab Meeting (Spring ’25)
          • Join Us
      • Mark Smeltzer, Ph.D.
      • Jason Stumhofer, Ph.D.
      • Daniel E. Voth, Ph.D.
        • Voth Lab
      • Tiffany Weinkopff, Ph.D.
      • Xuming Zhang, Ph.D.
  • Staff
    • Administrative Staff
    • Postdoctoral Fellows
      • Marena Guzman, Ph.D.
      • Changhoon Oh, Ph.D.
      • Shana Owens, Ph.D.
    • Research Staff
  • Graduate Program
    • Ph.D. & M.D./Ph.D. Rotations in MBIM Track
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  • Research Cores
    • Center for Microbial Pathogenesis and Host Inflammatory Responses
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    • DNA Sequencing Core Facility
      • Preparing Your Samples for Submission (Sanger)
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      • Recommendations, Downloads, and Useful Links (Sanger)
      • TapeStation 4150
      • NextSeq 2000 (Illumina)
      • Covaris ME220
    • Flow Cytometry Core Facility
      • Training and Education
      • Protocols and Reagents
        • Immunofluorescence Staining for Immunotyping
        • Cell Cycle Staining using PI
        • Sorting and Staining Buffers
        • Lysing red blood cells
      • Sample Submission
        • Appointments and Pricing
        • Sample Preparation
      • Instruments
        • BD FACS Symphony- 16 Color Self Service Cytometer
        • BD LSRFortessa- 16 color cytometer
        • Cytek Aurora CS-cell sorter
        • BD FACS Celesta-12 color self-service cytometer
        • Cytek Northern Lights-Full Spectrum Cytometer
        • Hematology Analyzer-VETSCAN HM5
      • Data Analysis and Citation
    • Next Generation Sequencing
      • Small Genome Sequencing
      • 16S Metagenomics
      • RNA-Seq
    • iLab-External
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  • Resources
    • Arkansas Tick-Borne Pathogen Surveillance Program
    • Microbiology & Immunology Research Seminar
  1. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
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Department News

News & Announcements

Undergraduate and Medical Students Start Summer Research at MBIM

June 16, 2025 | mmanzano

We are excited to have seven students from schools in and out of the state joining MBIM labs to conduct their summer research.

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Ph.D. Defense: Lucy Fry, Ph.D.

April 22, 2025 | mmanzano

Lucy Fry from the Weinkopff Lab successfully defended her dissertation (“Host Factors in Cutaneous Leishmaniasis: Mechanisms of Inflammatory Response, Lymphatic Remodeling, and Protective Immunity”) on April 10, 2025. Lucy will be pursuing her postdoctoral training in the lab of Dr. Beth Tamburini at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Denver, CO. Congratulations Dr. […]

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Dr. Gyan Sahukhal Receives Inaugural AR Health Ventures Accelerator (ARHVA) Award

January 16, 2025 | mmanzano

Dr. Gyan Sahukhal, Assistant Staff Scientist in Dr. Mohamed Elasri‘s lab, received one of three inagural AR Health Ventures Accelerator Award from UAMS BioVentures. This program is designed to accelerate the development of therapies from bench to bedside. Dr. Sahukhal’s project aims to target biofilm regulators when treating staph infection. He is featured in the […]

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UAMS Receives $2.9 Million NIH Grant to Study Virus that Can Trigger Cancers

January 6, 2025 |

A discovery at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) that a viral protein helps a cancer-associated herpesvirus evade the immune system has led to a five-year, $2.9 million research grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

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NIH Awards UAMS $3.7 Million in Quest for More Effective Tuberculosis Vaccine

October 2, 2024 | uamsonline

UAMS researcher Lu Huang, Ph.D., has received a $3.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support his pursuit of a more effective tuberculosis (TB) vaccine, a feat that has eluded scientists for more than 100 years.

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July 2024: Presentations, Publications and Grants

August 3, 2024 | mmanzano

Presentations Our undergraduate interns completed their summer programs on July 26. This culminated in the presentation of their research in the Arkansas Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium last July 24, 2024 here at UAMS. Congratulations to all the students! They are: Oral Presentation (12 chosen from 53 submissions) Allie Farrar, Hendrix College (Manzano Lab), pictured above […]

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June 2024 Presentations, Publications, Grants

July 7, 2024 | mmanzano

Presentations by Trainees in International Meetings LeKivia Cobb (Boehme Lab), oral presentation at the American Society for Virology Annual Meeting at Columbus, OH last June 25. Steven Murdock, Jr. (Forrest Lab), oral presentation at the International Symposium on EBV and KSHV and Related Agents and Diseases at Boston, MA last July 3. Shana Owens, Ph.D. […]

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Dr. Jorgenson receives an NIGMS R35 Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award

June 12, 2024 | mmanzano

Bacterial pathogens are coated by a wide array of glycan layers that protect against antimicrobials, immune systems, and environmental hazards. Though formidable, these protective layers harbor a critical weakness: most are assembled on a vulnerable lipid carrier known as undecaprenyl phosphate (Und-P). While most studies have focused on the consequences of decreasing Und-P levels, very […]

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May Updates: Publications, Grants, Awards

June 3, 2024 | mmanzano

Dr. Cannon receives the UAMS College of Medicine Red Sash Dr. Martin Cannon received the Red Sash at the UAMS College of Medicine Honors Convocation last May 17, 2024. Red Sash honorees are outstanding teachers voted by the members of the seniors class. New R21s awarded to Drs. Cannon (National Cancer Institute) and Li (National […]

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Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Ashley Groshong

May 24, 2024 | mmanzano

Dr. Ashley Groshong is an alumnus of our Ph.D. program in Microbiology & Immunology (2014). Working in the laboratory of Dr. Jon Blevins, she studied virulence factors of the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi. She continued her work on B. burgdorferi as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Connecticut Health Center focusing on gene […]

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Undergraduate Students Start Summer Research Programs at MBIM

May 21, 2024 | mmanzano

We welcome eight undergraduates joining MBIM labs for their Summer Research Programs. They are: Youssef Baghat, University of South Carolina (Forrest Lab) Nicole Chong, UC Berkeley (Lee Lab) Allie Farrar, Hendrix College (INBRE, Manzano Lab) Armari Jackson, Arkansas State University (SURP, Aachoui Lab) Kalayna King, Arkansas State University (SURP, Liu Lab) Brianna Lee, Xavier University […]

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Ph.D. Student Lucy Fry Takes Top Prize at Student Research Day

April 7, 2024 | mmanzano

Lucy Fry, fourth year Ph.D. student, Weinkopff Lab) won the best poster (Graduate Student category) in this year’s Student Research Day (SRD) on March 5, 2024, which highlighted her parasitology project involving a non-healing form of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania amazonensis.

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ASM Branch Meeting

December 1, 2023 | mmanzano

The Department of Microbiology and Immunology hosted the American Society for Microbiology South Central Branch Meeting at the Statehouse Convention Center last November 10-11. Close to 200 scientists and trainees from Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi participated in the two-day event and shared their work in the plenary and poster sessions.  This include several trainees from […]

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American Society for Microbiology UAMS Student Chapter Hosts Lunch for MBIM Summer Students

August 14, 2023 | mmanzano

UAMS now officially has a chapter of the American Society of Microbiology for students and postdoctoral trainees.

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MBIM Trainees in Summer 2023 Conferences and Courses

August 11, 2023 | mmanzano

MBIM students and postdocs continue to make the MBIM department and UAMS proud in recent international meetings and courses this summer. Great work everyone! Conferences and Meetings Het Adhvaryu (student, Voth Lab)Poster (Travel Award), American Society for Rickettsiology, Snowbird, UT, July 8-11 Naiha Ahmad (student, Liu Lab)Talk (Travel Award), American Society for Virology, Athens, GA, […]

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Ph.D. Graduates (July 2023)

August 1, 2023 | mmanzano

Congratulations to our newly minted Ph.D. graduates Dr. Hayley Theriot and Dr. Michael Eledge who both defended this July.

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UAMS Using $2.4 Million NIH Grant to Study Bacterium that Causes Tick-borne Relapsing Fever

November 14, 2022 |

UAMS’ Jon Blevins, Ph.D., a professor in the College of Medicine Department of Microbiology and Immunology, is leading the four-year study funded by a $2.4 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

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NIH Awards UAMS $7.9 Million to Create More Space for Pandemic Response, Infectious Disease Research

October 25, 2022 | uamsonline

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) will use a $7.9 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to expand its infectious disease research capacity and establish a Pandemic Response and Public Health Laboratory by renovating existing research space.

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July 2021

July 27, 2021 |

Employee Spotlight Q & A with Matt Jorgenson, Ph.D., Recently Promoted to Assistant Professor Where did you grow up and are there any fun or interesting facts about your hometown? I grew up in southeast Minnesota in the small town of Kasson, an old community of old timey buildings. Kasson holds the distinction of being […]

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June 2021

June 27, 2021 |

Employee Spotlight Rhonda Anthony, Executive Assistant to Dr. Smeltzer – Center for Microbial Pathogenesis Host Inflammatory Responses How long have you worked at UAMS? 38 Years! Started in the Clin. Lab doing phlebotomy (4:00 a.m. every single day!) while going to school. (yea, I was like, nine years old! LOL!) What is the best career lesson […]

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May 2021

May 27, 2021 |

Employee Spotlight Steven Murdock, Graduate Assistant – Forrest Lab Where were you born and raised? I was born in New Orleans, Louisiana but I grew up here in Bryant. Best childhood memory? My best childhood memory would probably be playing pickup games of basketball with all the kids in my neighborhood growing up. Who is someone you […]

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April 2021

April 27, 2021 |

Employee Spotlight Changhoon Oh, Ph.D., Post-Doctoral Fellow – Aachoui Lab How long have you been with UAMS? Oh, time flies. I started working in the UAMS on Jan, 1st, 2019. I’ve already been here more than two years. Where is your hometown? My hometown is a small city called Jin-Ju in the southern part of South Korea. […]

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March 2021

March 27, 2021 |

Download the Winter 2021 MBIM Newsletter Employee Spotlight Samantha Crane, Graduate Assistant – Pechous Lab Where is your hometown? My hometown is Kansas City, Missouri, which is home to great barbecue, major sports teams like the Chiefs and the Royals, and a lot of fountains. Allegedly, Kansas City is second to Rome in the number of […]

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February 2021

February 27, 2021 |

Employee Spotlight Marcelle Dina Zita, Graduate Assistant – Boehme Lab Where are you from and what do you miss most? I’m from Cameroon (central/west Africa). I was born and raised in the capital, Yaounde. I definitely miss my family and the food the most. Any interesting facts about your country? We have more than 200 tribes and […]

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January 2021

January 27, 2021 |

Employee Spotlight Raj Singh, Research Technician – Cannon Lab How long have you been working at UAMS? I’ve been a part of the UAMS family for roughly three years now, but weirdly enough, it still feels like I just started working here yesterday. Where is your hometown? I actually have many “hometowns” because I moved and traveled […]

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News Archive

Read department updates from prior to 2021.

See Our News Archive
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