Edward N. Janoff, M.D.

Tim Gill Professor of Medicine and Microbiology
Director, Mucosal and Vaccine Research Program Colorado (MAVRC)
Division of Infectious Diseases
University of Colorado Denver
Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center

Phone: CU (303) 315-7233 or VA (303) 393-2837
E-mail: Edward.Janoff@uchsc.edu
Address: Infectious Disease Box B168
Univ. of Colorado Denver
4200 E. Ninth Ave.
Denver, CO 80220

 

 

Medical School:
University of Arizona School of Medicine (1977-81)
Residency:
Internal Medicine, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center; Torrance, CA (1981-84)
Fellowship:
Infectious Diseases, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, Colorado (1984-87)
Infection and Immunity Branch, NIDCR, National Institutes of Health (1987-89)
Research Interests:
We focus on diseases of international importance, such as diarrheal disease, respiratory infections, and HIV-1/AIDS. Our team characterizes mucosal responses to Streptococcus pneumoniae in the lung and to HIV-1 in the intestine, reproductive tract, and in breast milk. Each study is supported by a field site in Africa (Uganda, Burkina Faso, Botswana and South Africa) with collaborators from these African nations, the U.S. and Europe. The goal of our laboratory is to provide a scientific foundation for mucosal vaccines to prevent pneumococcal infections and transmission of HIV-l /AIDS. We integrate clinical and basic laboratory approaches to determine how pathogens interact with the host at the mucosal surface and how innate and humoral mechanisms, individually and in concert, serve to protect against infection. Our primary model for mucosal defense against HIV involves post-natal transmission of the virus by breast milk. We are characterizing the mechanisms by which pathogen-specific antibodies in blood and milk from transmitting and non-transmitting mothers in Burkina Faso, Botswana and Uganda, neutralize autologous and heterologous HIV isolates using cellular, molecular, and biochemical approaches. For S. pneumoniae, we characterize systemic and mucosal responses to natural infection and vaccine, the molecular basis for capsule-specific antibody responses (VH gene diversity and mutational pattern), and the functional activity of these human antibodies. The goal is to develop effective vaccines against these pathogens to prevent infections where they begin, at the mucosa.

Selected Publications:

  1. Mantis NJ, Palaia J, Hessell AJ, Mehta S, Zhu Z, Corthésy B, Neutra MR, Burton DR, Janoff EN. Inhibition of HIV-1 infectivity and epithelial cell transfer by immunoglobulin A monoclonal antibody b12. J Immunol 2007; 179:3144-52.
  2. Boulware DR, Daley C, Merriwether C, Hopewell P, Janoff EN. Rapid diagnosis of pneumococcal pneumonia among HIV-infected adults with urine antigen detection and CRP. J Infect 2007; 55: 300-9.
  3. Shapiro RL, Lockman S, Kim S, Smeaton L, Rahkola JT, Thior I, Wester C, Moffat C, Arimi P, Ndase P, Asmelash A, Stevens L, Montano M, Makhema J, Essex M, Janoff EN. Infant morbidity, mortality, and breast milk immunologic profiles among breastfeeding HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected women in Botswana. J Infect Dis 2007; 196:562-9 .
  4. Fasching CE, Grossman T, Corthesy B, Plaut AG, Weiser JN, Janoff EN. Impact of the molecular form of IgA on functional activity in defense against Streptococcus pneumoniae. Infect Immun. 2007;75: 1801-10.
  5. Feikin DR, Feldman C, Schuchat A, Janoff EN. Global strategies to prevent bacterial pneumonia in adults with HIV disease: an evidence-based review. Lancet Infect Dis 2004;4:445-455.
  6. Weiser JN, Bae, D, Fasching C, Scamurra RW, Ratner AJ, Janoff EN. Antibody-enhanced pneumococcal adherence requires IgA1 protease. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2003:100:4215-4220.
  7. Scamurra RW, Nelson DB, Lin XM, Miller DJ, Silverman GJ, Kappel T, Thurn JR, Lorenz E, Kulkarni-Naria A, Janoff EN. Mucosal plasma cell repertoire during HIV-1 infection. J Immunol 2002;169:4008-4016.
  8. Pillay K, Coutsoudis A, Agadzi-Naqvi AK, Kuhn L, Coovadia HM, Janoff EN. Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI) in vaginal secretions and perinatal HIV-1 transmission. J Infect Dis 2000;183:653-56.
  9. Janoff EN, Fasching C, Orenstein JM, Rubins JB, Opstad NL, Dalmasso AP. Killing of Streptococcus pneumoniae by capsular polysaccharide-specific polymeric IgA, complement, and phagocytes. J Clin Invest 1999;104:1139-47.

Grants

  1. Name: Mucosal Defense by IgA against S. pneumoniae
    Grant ID: 5R01AI048796-03
    Grant type: NIH Grant
  2. Name: Cellular Determinants of Mucosal HIV Infection
    Grant Type: Veterans Affairs Merit Review
  3. Name: "Mucosal Mechanisms of Control of Influenza"
    Grant ID: R21AI077069
    Grant Type: NIH Grant