The lab has employed mass spectrometry to identify metabolites of commensal microbes that modulate the human immune system. Immunomodulatory compounds of the human microbiome: The lab is currently developing similar detection assays for a variety of diagnostic targets using targeted mass spectrometry and advanced nucleic acid amplification methods. The Assay with a Large Immunosorbent Surface Area (ALISSA) invented by the lab detects botulinum neurotoxins and other proteolytically active agents with ultra-high sensitivity (femtomolar concentrations) in complex biological matrices, such as blood or foods. Antifungal vaccines are of interest to cancer patients, stem cell transplant recipients, and in veterinary care to protect exotic birds and other susceptible species.ĭiagnostic assays for microbial toxins and diseases: fumigatus Asp f3 was shown by the lab to protect mice from invasive aspergillosis through a CD4+ T cell mediated mechanism. A protein vaccine, based on bacterially expressed, recombinant, A.

The Kalkum lab is developing vaccines against invasive pulmonary aspergillosis to protect immunosuppressed patients and animals from fatal infections with Aspergillus fumigatus and other pathogenic fungi. Vaccines to protect against invasive fungal infections:

The lab conducts intradisciplinary research in the fields of mass spectrometry, biochemistry, microbiology and immunology. The Kalkum lab is housed within the Department of Immunology & Theranostics at Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope and the Arthur Riggs Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute.

City vector icons