Contact Information
Research Interests
Research Topics
Host-Pathogen Interactions, Virology
Disease Research Interests
Infectious Diseases
Research Description
Immune evasion strategies of viruses; molecular disinfection of viruses; molecular tracking viruses in the environment
Viruses are one of the most abundant microorganisms on the planet, infecting every form of life from humans to bacteria. Mammalian viruses, many of which are zoonotic (i.e., transmitted to humans from other animals), are directly responsible for some of the worst diseases known to man (e.g., Ebola virus, HIV), and for common causes of morbidity and mortality around the world (e.g., norovirus, influenza virus).
Understanding, detecting and controlling viruses continue to be grand challenges in science because so little is known about the fundamental properties of viruses and their interactions with the environment, and because they vary greatly with respect to their genomes and replication cycles.
I am interested in asking fundamental questions about virology:
- What are the molecular properties of viruses that make them resistant or susceptible to disinfection in natural settings versus hospitals or water treatment plants?
- How do viruses evade the immune system to cause disease?
- How does the physical environment affect virus evolution and spread?
Education
B.A. (Microbiology), Miami University, 1990
Ph.D. (Immunology and Molecular Pathogenesis), Emory University, 1996
Postdoctoral (Virology), Laboratory of Viral Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 1997-2001
Additional Campus Affiliations
Affiliate, Microbiology
External Links
Recent Publications
Mao, Y., Shisler, J. L., & Nguyen, T. H. (2025). Enhanced detection for antibiotic resistance genes in wastewater samples using a CRISPR-enriched metagenomic method. Water Research, 274, Article 123056. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2024.123056
Storms, S. M., Shisler, J., Nguyen, T. H., Zuckermann, F. A., & Lowe, J. F. (2024). Lateral flow paired with RT-LAMP: A speedy solution for Influenza A virus detection in swine. Veterinary Microbiology, 296, Article 110174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetmic.2024.110174
Uprety, S., Ngo, I., Maggos, M., Dangol, B., Sherchan, S. P., Shisler, J. L., Amarasiri, M., Sano, D., & Nguyen, T. H. (2024). Multiple pathogen contamination of water, hands, and fomites in rural Nepal and the effect of WaSH interventions. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 257, Article 114341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2024.114341
Usmani, M., Brumfield, K. D., Magers, B., Zhou, A., Oh, C., Mao, Y., Brown, W., Schmidt, A., Wu, C. Y., Shisler, J. L., Nguyen, T. H., Huq, A., Colwell, R., & Jutla, A. (2024). Building Environmental and Sociological Predictive Intelligence to Understand the Seasonal Threat of SARS-CoV-2 in Human Populations. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 110(3), 518-528. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.23-0077
Cong, W., Pike, A., Gonçalves, K., Shisler, J. L., & Mariñas, B. J. (2023). Inactivation Kinetics and Replication Cycle Inhibition of Coxsackievirus B5 by Free Chlorine. Environmental Science and Technology, 57(47), 18690-18699. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c09269