Immunobiology

Marsha Wills-Karp, PhD

Title

Director

Director, Immunobiology Graduate Program

Associate Dean of Basic Sciences and Special Projects, UC College of Medicine

Appointment

Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

Email

wildc7@cchmc.org

Phone

513-636-0281

Fax

513-636-5355

Credentials

PhD University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 1986

Postdoctoral Fellow Yale University, New Haven, CT, 1986-87

Postdoctoral Fellow Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 1987-89

Position History

• 2007-present Associate Dean of Basic Sciences and Special Projects, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
• 2000-present Professor of Pediatrics, Director, Division of Immunobiology, Children's Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
• 2003-present Director, Immunobiology Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH
• 1996-2000 Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD
• 1990-1996 Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD
• 1989-1990 Research Associate, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD

Awards and Honors

• Academic Excellence, 1980, 1981, 1982
• Beta Beta Beta Biological Honor Society, 1979-1982
• Achievement and Leadership Award, 1981, 1982
• NIH Post-doctoral Training Grant, 1987-1989
• First Award, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, 1989
• Faculty Development Award, 1994
• Faculty of 1000
• John Salvaggio Memorial Lectureship, 2001
• Distinguished Alumni Award, 2002

Research Grants and Contracts

PO1 HL076383 (Wills-Karp)  Interleukin-13 in Experimental Asthma  07/01/04-06/30/09 NIH/NHLBI

6 R01 HL67736 (Wills-Karp) Asthma Positional Candidate Genes in Mice and Humans  12/01/05-11/30/10 NIH/NHLBI

RO1 AI57839-01A1 (PI, Koehl, Co-PI, Wills-Karp) Complement in Allergic Asthma: The role of C3a and C5a 07/01/04-06/30/09 NIH

RO1 HL075568 (PI, Page, Co-PI, Wills-Karp) Role of Cockroach Proteases in Airway Inflammation  12/01/04-11/30/09 NIH

U19 AI070235 (PI, Hershey, Project 3 PI, Wills-Karp) Epithelial Genes In Allergic Inflammation 07/01/06-06/30/11

1P50ES015903-01 (PI, Breysse, Project 4 PI, Wills-Karp) Center for Childhood Asthma in the Urban Environment 09/29/07-06/30/12  NIEHS

 

Publications, Most Recent

• Zhang X, Lewkowich IP, Köhl G, Clark JR, Wills-Karp M, Köhl J.  (2009)

  A protective role for C5a in the development of allergic asthma associated with altered levels of B7-H1 and B7-DC on plasmacytoid dendritic cells.  J Immunol. 2009 Apr 15;182(8):5123-30.

• Lewis CC, Aronow B, Hutton J, Santeliz J, Dienger K, Herman N, Finkelman FD, Wills-Karp M.  (2009) Unique and overlapping gene expression patterns driven by IL-4 and IL-13 in the mouse lung.  J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2009 Apr;123(4):795-804.e8. Epub 2009 Feb 26.

• Gu Y, Harley IT, Henderson LB, Aronow BJ, Vietor I, Huber LA, Harley JB, Kilpatrick JR, Langefeld CD, Williams AH, Jegga AG, Chen J, Wills-Karp M, Arshad SH, Ewart SL, Thio CL, Flick LM, Filippi MD, Grimes HL, Drumm ML, Cutting GR, Knowles MR, Karp CL.  (2009) Identification of IFRD1 as a modifier gene for cystic fibrosis lung disease.  Nature. 2009 Apr 23;458(7241):1039-42. Epub 2009 Feb 25.

• Nathan AT, Peterson EA, Chakir J, Wills-Karp M.  (2009) Innate immune responses of airway epithelium to house dust mite are mediated through beta-glucan-dependent pathways.  J Allergy Clin Immunol. Epub ahead of print.

• Wills-Karp M, Finkelman FD.  (2008)  Untangling the complex web of IL-4- and IL-13-mediated signaling pathways.  Sci Signal 1(51):pe55.
• Page K, Lierl KM, Hughes VS, Zhou P, Ledford JR, Wills-Karp M. ( 2008)  TLR2-mediated activation of neutrophils in response to German cockroach frass. J Immunol 180:6317-24.
• Finkelman FD, Wills-Karp M. ( 2008)  Usefulness and optimization of mouse models of allergic airway disease. J Allergy Clin Immunol 121:603-6.
• Wills-Karp, M. (2008)  Immunological Mechanisms of Allergic Disorders. Fundamental Immunology, Sixth Edition. Lippincott-Raven Publishers, Ed. W Paul, M.D. p. 1439-1479.
• Chen W, Tabata Y, Gibson AM, Daines MO, Warrier MR, Wills-Karp M, Khurana Hershey GK. (2008) Matrix metalloproteinase 8 contributes to solubilization of IL-13 receptor alpha2 in vivo. J Allergy Clin Immunol 122:625-32.
• Lewkowich IP, Lajoie S, Clark JR, Herman NS, Sproles A, Wills-Karp M. (2008)  Allergen uptake, activation, and IL-23 production by pulmonary myeloid dendritic cells drives airway hyperresponsiveness in asthma-susceptible mice. PLoS ONE 3:e3879.
Kohl J,  Wills-Karp M. (2007)  Complement regulates inhalation tolerance at the dendritic cell/T cell interface. Mol. Immunol. 44(1-3):44-56.
Wills-Karp, M. (2007) Complement activation pathways: a bridge between innate and adaptive immune responses in asthma. Proc Am Thorac Soc. 4(3):247-251.
Khodoun M, Lewis C, Yang JQ, Orekov T, Potter C, Wynn T, Mentink-Kane M, Khurana Hershey GK, Wills-Karp M, Finkelman FD. (2007) Differences in expression, affinity, and function of soluble(s)IL-4R alpha and SIL-13Ralpha2 suggest opposite effects on allergic responses. J Immunol. 179(10):6429-6438.
Page K, Lierl KM, Herman N, Wills-Karp M. (2007) Differences in susceptibility to German cockroach frass and its associated proteases in induced allergic inflammation in mice. Respir. Res. 8:91.
Keen JC, Cianferoni A, Florio G, Guo J, Chen R, Roman J, Wills-Karp M, Casolaro V, Georas SN. (2006) Characterization of a novel PMA-inducible pathway of interleukin-13 gene expression in T cells. Immunology 117:29-37.
Barnes KC, Grant AV, Baltadzhieva D, Zhang S, Berg T, Shao L, Zambelli-Weiner A, Anderson W, Nelsen A, Pillai S, Yarnall DP, Dienger K, Ingersoll RG, Scott AF, Fallin MD, Mathias RA, Beaty TH, Garcia JG, Wills-Karp M. (2006) Variants in the gene encoding C3 are associated with asthma and related phenotypes among African Caribbean families.Genes Immun 7:27-35.
Molloy CA, Morrow AL, Meinzen-Derr J, Schleifer K, Dienger K, Manning-Courtney P, Altaye M, Wills-Karp M. (2006) Elevated cytokine levels in children with autism spectrum disorder.J Neuroimmunol 172:198-205.
Kohl J, Baelder R, Lewkowich IP, Pandey MK, Hawlisch H, Wang L, Best J, Herman NS, Sproles AA, Zwirner J, Whitsett JA, Gerard C, Sfyroera G, Lambris JD, Wills-Karp M. (2006) A regulatory role for the C5a anaphylatoxin in type 2 immunity in asthma.J Clin Invest 116:783-96.
Goebel J, Forrest K, Wills-Karp M, Roszman TL. (2006) Tubulin polymerization modulates interleukin-2 receptor signal transduction in human T cells.J Recept Signal Transduct Res 26:87-106.
Follettie MT, Ellis DK, Donaldson DD, Hill AA, Diesl V, DeClercq C, Sypek JP, Dorner AJ, Wills-Karp M. (2006) Gene expression analysis in a murine model of allergic asthma reveals overlapping disease and therapy dependent pathways in the lung.Pharmacogenomics J 6:141-52.
Barnes, K.C., A. Grant, P. Gao, D. Baltadjieva, T. Berg, P. Chi, S. Zhang, A. Zambelli-Weiner, E. Ehrlich, O. Zardkoohi, M.E. Brummet, M. Stockton, T. Watkins, L. Gao, M. Gittens, M. Wills-Karp, C. Cheadle, L.A. Beck, T.H. Beaty, K.G. Becker, J.G. Garcia, and R.A. Mathias. Polymorphisms in the novel gene acyloxyacyl hydroxylase (AOAH)are associated with asthma and associated phenotypes. J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 118(1):70-77, 2006.
Ramadas RA, Li X, Shubitowski DM, Samineni S, Wills-Karp M, Ewart SL. IL Receptor antagonist as a positional candidate gene in a murine model of allergic asthma. Immunogenetics 58(10):851-855, 2006.
Perkins, C., Wills-Karp M, Finkelman FD. IL-4 induces IL-13-independent allergic airway inflammation. J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 118(2):410-419, 2006.
Li X, Wills-Karp M, Ewart S. Investigating Gata3 as a positional candidate gene for allergic asthma in a murine model. Int. J. Immunogenet. 33(5):333-337, 2006.
• Lewis CC, Aronow B, Hutton J, Santeliz J, Dienger K, Herman N, Finkelman FD, Wills-Karp M. Unique and overlapping IL-4 and IL-13 Gene Expression Patterns in the Mouse Lung. In press JACI.
• Dienger K, Herman N, Sproles A, Clark J, Shull G, Khurana Hershey G, Wills-Karp M. Genetic deficiency of the Na+2/K+/Cl- cotransporter augments allergic airway responses in the mouse lung. In Review in JACI.
• Dienger K, Herman N, Clark J, Sproles A, Curt-Jones EA, Wills-Karp M. Trefoil factor 2 partially mediates IL-13-induced airway hyperresponsiveness and goblet cell metaplasia. In Review. Journal of Leuk. Biol.
• Wills-Karp M, Finkelman F. Untangling the Complex Web of IL-4- and IL-13-Mediated Signaling Pathways.  Sci Signal 51:55.
• Chavez-Valdez R, Wills-Karp M, Ahlawat R, Cristofalo EA, Nathan A, Gauda EB.  Caffine medulates TNF-alpha production by cord blood monocytes: the role of adenosine receptors.  Pediatr Res, 2008.  Epub ahead of print.
• Trompette A, Divanovic S, Visintin A, Blanchard C, Hegde RS, Madan R, Thorne PS, Wills-Karp M, Gioannini TL, Weiss JP, Karp CL.  Allergenicity resulting from functional mimicry of a Toll-like receptor complex protein.  Nature 457(7229): 585-588, 2008.  Epub ahead of print.

Presentations, Most Recent

 

• February 2006 Speaker, "Complex role of compliment in asthma pathogenesis", Meakins-Christie International Workshop, Montreal, Canada
• February 2006 Distinguished Lecturer, Benjamin Burrows Lung Immunology Seminar Series, "Immunoregulation and Asthma, A Variety of Complementary Wheezins". University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ
• March 2006 Speaker, "Complement Bridging Innate and Adaptive Immunity in Asthma" AAAAI Meeting, Miami Beach, FL
• March 2006 Speaker, "Pathway and High Density SNP Approaches in Allergy and Asthma", AAAAI Meeting, Miami Beach, FL
• March 2006 Speaker, "The Influence of the Innate Immune Response on the Adaptive Allergic Response", AAAAI Meeting, Miami Beach, FL
• March 2006 Speaker, "Research Opportunities for PhDs in Allergy/Asthma Research", AAAAI Meeting, Miami Beach, FL
• April 2006 Speaker, Keystone Symposia, Allergy, Allergic Inflammation and Asthma, Beaver Run Resort, Breckenridge, CO
• April 2006 Speaker, "Immunopathogenesis of Asthma", Amgen, Seattle, WA
• May 2006 Speaker, "Regulation of Inflammation in Airway Disease", American Thoracic Society, San Diego, CA
• May 2006 Speaker, "Targeting IL-4, IL-5, IL-13 and IgE", American Thoracic Society, San Diego, CA
• May 2006 Speaker, "ABX 10-0122, a High Affinity Neutralizing Fully Human Anti-IL-13 Monoclonal Antibody for the Treatment of Asthma, American Thoracic Society, San Diego, CA
• May 2006 Speaker, "Experimental Asthma", American Thoracic Society, San Diego, CA
• January 2007 Speaker, "Regulators of Asthma in Pre-Clinical Models and Human Disease", Abbott Research Center, Boston, MA
• January 2007 Speaker, "Complement Activation Pathways: A Bridge Between the Innate and Adaptive Immune Response in Asthma", Transatlantic Airway Conference, Lucerne, Switzerland
• February 2007 Speaker, EAACI Meeting, Davos, Switzerland
• April 2007 Speaker, University of Connecticut Immunology Series, Worster, MA
• May 2007 Speaker, National Jewish Medical and Research Center, Denver Colorado
• May 2007 Speaker, American Thoracic Society meeting, San Francisco, CA
• November 2007 Speaker, Johns Hopkins Children’s Health in the Urban Environment Center, Baltimore, MD
• January 2008 Speaker, “Epithelial Cell Regulation of Adaptive Immune Responses in the Lung”, NIH Workshop of Immune Defense Mechanisms at the Mucosal Surface, Washington, D.C.
• February 2008 Speaker, “Airway Epithelial Cell Dendritic Cell Interactions in Asthma Pathogenesis”, 11^th Annual Meakins-Christie Workshop, Montreal Canada
• February 2008 Participant, Asthma Global Therapeutic Experts Forum, Merck, Philadelphia, PA
• February 2008 Speaker, “Th2 Immunity and Asthma”, Merck TSLP Expert Input Forum, Westfield, NJ
• March 2008 Speaker, “Array Technologies: Lessons Learned”. AAAAI, Philadelphia, PA.
• March 2008 Moderator, “Innate Immunity in Asthma”. AAAAI, Philadelphia, PA.
• April 2008 Speaker, “Innate Immune Responses in Asthma”, Merck Frost, Montreal, Canada
• May 2008 Moderator, American Thoracic Society, Toronto, Canada.
• May 2008 Moderator, American Thoracic Society, Toronto, Canada.
• June 2008 Speaker, “Innate Immune Responses in Asthma”, FOCIS Meeting, Boston, MA
• June 2008 Speaker, “Utilization of Microarrays to Identify Biomarkers of Asthma”. European Academy and Allergology and Clinical Immunology Meeting, Barcelona, Spain
• July 2008 Speaker, Genetics of Asthma Consortium, Bethesda, MD
• September 2008 Global Variability in Response to Air Pollution: Approaches to Translation of Cardiopulmonary Animal Disease Models, NIEH, Chapel Hill, NC
• October 2008 Speaker, "Animal models of asthma and pulmonary function astudies in mice", Second Symposium on Cardiopulmonary Complications of Sickle Cell Disease, Cincinnati, OH
• October 2008 Speaker, Midwest Society for Pediatric Research, Cleveland, OH
• November 2008 Speaker, Innate Immune Responses in Asthma", Immunobiology Seminar Series, Yale University, New Haven, CT 

Professional Organization Memberships

• Sigma Xi
• American Association for the Advancement of Science
• American Thoracic Society
• Maryland Thoracic Society
• American Academy of Allergy & Immunity
• Board Member, Pulmonary Research Group, 1997-2000
• American Association of Immunologists
• American Association of Immunologists Finance Committee

Teaching

Graduate and Post-Graduate Training: Advisees

• Stephen Gavett, Postdoctoral Fellow, Research Advisor, 1991-1994 (Received NRSA Grant, July, 1993). Currently Senior Scientist, at the EPA, Raleigh, North Carolina.
• Xiaoling Chen, Thesis Advisor (Received Frederick Bang Award for Outstanding Student Research, 1993), received Ph.D. October, 1994. Currently Assistant Professor, Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania.
• Susan Ewart, Co-advisor, Degree awarded 1994, received Clinician Scientist Award, 1994. Currently Acting Associate Dean, Veterinary Medicine, Associate Professor at Michigan State University, Michigan.
• Daniel O'Hearn, Pulmonary Postdoctoral Fellowship Trainee, Research Advisor, 1994-1996. Awarded Eudowood-Baurneschmidt Research Award, 1995 and NRSA Grant, 1995. Currently Senior Scientist at the FDA.
• Andrea Keane-Meyers, Pulmonary Postdoctoral Fellowship Trainee, Research Advisor, 1995-1996. Currently Staff Scientist, tenure track, NIAID, Bethesda, Maryland.
• Douglas Kuperman, Thesis Advisor, 1994-1998. Student Presentation Award - Society of Leukocyte Biology, 1997. Currently Assistant Professor, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illlinois
• Pamela Stetkiewicz, Thesis Advisor, 1994-1999. Currently employed at Novartis, Boston, Massachusetts.
• Dianne Walters, Thesis Advisor, 1997-2002. Currently National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences, North Carolina.
• Judy Keen, Thesis Advisor, 1998-2001. Currently Coriell Institute for Medical Research, Camden, New Jersey.
• Lilliana Moreno, Thesis Advisor, 1998-2000. Currently Assistant Professor, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
• Joanna Santeliz, Thesis Advisor, 1999-2002. Currently Clinical Research Fellow, University of Lisandro, Alvarado School of Medicine, Venezuela.
• Sorachari Srisuma, Thesis Advisor, 1999-2000. Currently Instructor in Physiology, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
• Jennifer Brzezinski, Post-Doctoral Fellowship, 2001-2002. Currently Food and Drug Administration, Cincinnati, Ohio.
• David Wu, Post-Doctoral Fellowship, 2004-2007.  Currently Research Associate, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio. 
• Xiaomeng Ren, Post-Doctoral Fellowship, 2004-2007.  Currently Research Associate, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio.
• Samuel Pope, Post-Doctoral Fellowship, 2005-2007.  Currently Instructor, West Virginia School of Medicine, Lewisburg, West Virginia.
• Christina Lewis, Post-Doctoral Fellowship, 2006-2008.
• Ian Lewkowich, Post-Doctoral Fellowship, 2004-present
• Vanessa Saunders, Graduate Student, 2005-present
• Stephane Lajoie, Post-Doctoral Fellowship, 2007-present
• Yusuke Suzuki, Post-Doctoral Fellowship, 2007-present
• Yuzaburo Inoue, Post-Doctoral Fellowship, 2008-present
• Mark Webb, Graduate Student, 2008-present

Special Interests

Asthma, allergy, T cell immunology, genetics of asthma, cytokines

Editing

• Member Editorial Board, American Journal of Respiratory Cell Molecular Biology
• Member Editorial Board, American Journal of Physiology: Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology
• Reviewer, Nature Medicine
• Reviewer, Nature Immunology
• Reviewer, Immunity
• Reviewer, Journal of Experimental Medicine
• Reviewer, Journal of Clinical Investigation
• Reviewer, Journal of Immunology
• Reviewer, Journal of Applied Physiology
• Reviewer, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
• Reviewer, British Journal Pharmacology
• Reviewer, Pulmonary Pharmacology
• Reviewer, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
• Reviewer, Journal of Immunological Methods
• Reviewer, International Archives of Allergy and Immunology
• Reviewer, Journal of Pathology
• Reviewer, Cellular Immunology
• Reviewer, Environmental Research
• Reviewer, Environmental Health Perspective
• Reviewer, American Journal of Pathology

Grant Review Committees

• Member, Lung Biology and Pathology Study Section, NHLBI, National Institute of Health, 2000-2004
• Ad Hoc Member, Grant Review, Veterans Administration, 1995-Present.
• British Columbia Lung Association, 1997-present.

Consultant

• Roche Bioscience, Palo Alto, CA (1997-2000)
• Department of Energy, Beryllium Lung Disease (1998)
• Millennium, Cambridge, MA (1997)
• Genetics Institute, Cambridge, MA (1998 - present)
• Dynavac Pharmaceuticals, Palo Alto, CA (1999 - present)
• Merck Frosst, Canada (2002-present)

Related Areas

This person works in these other areas at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center:

• University of Cincinnati Department of Pediatrics
• University of Cincinnati Department of Pediatrics (research)