HESBURGH LECTURE SERIES 2012 Program - Alumni Association ...

Mary Ann McDowell, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Biological Sciences
Biography
Mary Ann McDowell is an associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the
University of Notre Dame. In addition, she is the chair of the Faculty Advisory Committee
of the Eck Institute for Global Health. She obtained a B.S. and M.S. from the University of
Nebraska and her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After a post-doctoral
fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. McDowell joined the Notre Dame faculty in
2001.
The teaching and research interests of McDowell focus on the immunobiology of infectious
diseases. Her current research program primarily focuses on two vector-transmitted diseases:
leishmaniasis and malaria. McDowell has published in a variety of international journals and
has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, and
the American Heart Association.
Lectures
Fighting for Global Health: The Eck Institute for Global Health
Infectious diseases account for more than 13 million deaths annually worldwide, being responsible for one in every two deaths
in developing nations. Moreover, infectious diseases contribute substantially to slow economic and social progress in these
countries. Notre Dame’s Eck Institute for Global Health is a University-wide enterprise that recognizes health as a fundamental
human right and endeavors to promote research, training and service to advance health standards for all people in low and
middle-income countries, who are disproportionately impacted by preventable diseases.
Hijacking Immune Cell Machinery: Leishmania Parasites and the Intracellular Niche
The hallmark of an intracellular parasite is its ability to survive within the intracellular niche. These organisms must be resistant
to, or able to evade, the host cell’s microbicidal mechanisms. This dilemma is particularly relevant to Leishmania parasites
because these organisms primarily reside within vertebrate immune cells, the main functions of which are to destroy foreign
material and activate immunity.
The Unholy Trinity: Vector, Parasite, Host
The emergence of political terrorism in the U.S. and the increasing involvement of U.S. military in regional conflicts has
significantly increased the risk to U.S. civilians and military personnel of infectious diseases associated with bioterrorism and
warfare. Especially important as current and potential health risks are insect-borne diseases, like malaria and leishmaniasis.
Successful control strategies to combat these devastating diseases will undoubtedly be multi-factorial, combining attacks on
human infections and targeting diverse aspects of pathogen biology.
68 The Hesburgh Lecture Series, 2012 Program
Categories
Notre Dame, Science