Back to Search Results
 
Imtiaz Khan Imtiaz Khan
Professor of Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine

Office Phone: (202)994-2863
Email: Email
Department: Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine

Education

  • BSc, Sri Pratap College, 1975
  • MSc, Guru Nanak Dev University, 1978
  • PhD, Institute of Medical Sciences, 1983

Biography

Dr. Khan received his PhD in Microbiology from the Institute of Medical Science, B.H.U. in Varanasi, India. Before moving to GW in 2006, he was a Professor in the Department of Microbiology at LSUHSC in New Orleans, LA and an Associate Professor in Medicine and Microbiology at Dartmouth Medical School. Dr. Khan's research career began more than 23 years ago, when he started to study the development of CD8+ T cell immunity against parasitic infections. Since then, his work has led to more than 60 publications in high quality journals.

Research

Dr. Khan's laboratory has many ongoing projects, including the evaluation of host immunity and pathogenesis of Encephalitozoan cuniculi and determination of the dendritic cell response to this gut pathogen in aging populations. This research began approximately 12 years ago when very little information was known regarding protective immunity against this group of pathogens. Through their pioneering work, Dr. Khan's laboratory demonstrated the role of CD8+ T cells, perforin-mediated cytotoxicity and cytokines in protection against the pathogen. Their research has further focused on the gut immune response against this pathogen, which is a highly understudied area. Dr. Khan's team has demonstrated early induction of CD8??+ IELs in the gut, their importance in protective immunity and the role of dendritic cells in priming this response. A second project focuses on the long-term immunity against toxoplasmosis and understanding the development and maintenance of CD8+ T cell immunity during peri-oral infection and identifying factors responsible for initiation of robust CD8+ T cell immunity against the parasite and conditions that are essential for its persistence. Finally, Dr. Khan is also interested in projects to identify vaccine targets to prevent toxoplasmosis. This work focuses on the use of major surface proteins as immunogens and testing their ability to induce protective immunity.

For more information, please visit the Khan lab website.
 

Publications

Moretto MM, Khan IA, Weiss LM. Gastrointestinal immunity to microsporidia PLoS Pathog. 2012 Jul;8(7):e1002775.

Gigley JP, Bhadra R, Moretto MM, Khan IA. T cell exhaustion in Protozoan disease Trends Parasitol. 2012 Sep;28(9):377-84.

Bhadra, R. and. Khan, IA PD-1 mediated attrition of polyfunctional memory CD8+ T cells in chronic Toxoplasma infection . 2011 J Infect Dis Jul 1;206(1):125-34.

Bhadra R, Gigley, JP and Khan I.A.: CD40 –CD40L pathway plays a critical CD8 intrinsic and extrinsic role during rescue of exhausted CD8 T cells 2011 Cutting Edge J. Immunol. 2011 vol. 187 no. 9 4421-4425

Gigley, J.P. and Khan, I.A. (2011) Elevated PD-L1 Expression by Aged Murine pDC down regulate priming by inhibiting cDC maturation. PLoS One 2011;6(6):e20838. Epub 2011 Jun 10.

Bhadra, R.J, Gigley, J.P. and Khan, I.A. (2011) Memory CD8 T cell dysfunction during T.gondii infection is regulated by PD1. Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences 2011 May 31;108(22):9196-201.

Gigley, J.P., Bhadra R.J. and Khan, I.A. (2011) CD8 T cells and Toxoplasma gondii: A new paradigm. J. Parasitol. Res. 2011;2011:243796. Epub 2011 May 18. 2011)

Didier ES, Bowers LC, Martin AD, Kuroda MJ, Khan IA, Didier PJ.Reactive nitrogen and oxygen species, and iron sequestration contribute to macrophage-mediated control of Encephalitozoon cuniculi (Phylum Microsporidia) infection in vitro and in vivo. Microbes and Infection. 2010 12: 1244-51.

Lawlor EM, Moretto MM, Khan IA..Optimal CD8 T-cell response against Encephalitozoon cuniculi is mediated by Toll-like receptor 4 up-regulation by dendritic cells. Infection and Immunity 2010 78 (7) 3097-102

Industry Relationships and Collaborations

This faculty member (or a member of their immediate family) has reported a financial interest with the health care related companies listed below. These relations have been reported to the University and, when appropriate, management plans are in place to address potential conflicts.

  • None