Joshua J. Obar, PhD
Principle Investigator
I graduated with my B.A. in Microbiology from Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio. After 4 years in the mountain-less Midwest, I returned to my hometown to attend the Molecular & Cellular Biology Program at Dartmouth College in 2001. At Dartmouth my interest in the host response to pathogens emerged. I conducted my doctoral thesis work in the laboratory of Dr. Edward Usherwood, completing my dissertation entitled "CD8 T cell responses to murine γ-herpesvirus 68: Viral persistence shapes the immune response" in May 2006. There after I moved to the University of Connecticut Health Center to work in the laboratory of the late Dr. Leo Lefrançois as an F32-NRSA funded post-doctoral fellow. I worked on the basic biology of memory CD8 T cell formation trying to elucidate the cell intrinsic and extrinsic factors which regulate their formation. We were interested in the earliest signal regulating memory CD8 T cell development, ultimately this led to an emerging interest in how the innate immune response could regulate memory formation as well as regulate immunity versus immunopathology during infections. In August 2010, I moved to Montana State University in Bozeman, MT to start my own laboratory in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology with a K22 Career Transition Award and ultimately R01 funding. Finally, I was lucky enough to be recruited back to my alma mater and hometown to join the faculty in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth in August 2015. My laboratory's research program now focuses on understanding the balance of pulmonary immunity and immunopathology during influenza A virus and Aspergillus fumigatus infections which has been funded by multiple NIH and foundational grants.
Madeleine Grau
PhD Student
Madeleine graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry from Columbia University in 2017. Following graduation, she worked as Research Technician in the Jaffer Lab at the Cardiovascular Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital. She joined the Molecular & Cellular Biology graduate program at Dartmouth College in September 2019. Her project focuses on development of an influenza A virus (IAV)-Aspergillus fumigatus co-infection model and understanding why viral infection makes the host susceptible to secondary infection with fungal pathogens.
Abigail McGee
PhD Candidate
Abigail graduated with her B.S. in Biochemistry from Ithaca College in 2022. During her time as an undergraduate in Ithaca, she performed research both at Ithaca College and Cornell University. Her work at Ithaca College was with Dr. Jamie Ellis on the biophysical properties of intrinsically disordered proteins, and her work at Cornell was in the lab of Dr. Tobias Doerr on beta-lactam antibiotic tolerance of gram-negative bacteria. Following graduation, Abigail joined the Molecular & Cellular Biology program in August 2022. Her project focuses on understanding the cell biology of alveolar macrophages, which are the first immune cells to encounter Aspergillus fumigatus conidia in the respiratory tract and are responsible for recruiting neutrophils to facilitate clearance of the pathogen. Specifically, Abigail is interested in understanding the immune-metabolic roles of mitochondria and peroxisomes within alveolar macrophages and how the “health” of these organelles affects the macrophages’ ability to orchestrate a successful immune response. Outside of lab, she can be found riding at her local horse barn or at home baking delicious treats.
Francois LeSage
PhD Candidate
Francois earned a B.S. degree from Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, before joining the Molecular and Cellular Biology program at Dartmouth College. They quickly became involved in academic and community leadership, serving as an EE Just Liftoff Fellow, serving on the Graduate Student Council, and founding the graduate student volleyball club, DartSlam. Francois' research in the Obar lab focuses on the universal fungal induction of a MAVS-dependent response in alveolar macrophages across all Aspergillus fumigatus isolates, aiming to improve understanding of host-pathogen interactions of eukaryotic pathogens and innate immune signaling.
Former Graduate Students:
Alexander Rapp, Ph.D. – Senior Scientist, DartCF Center – Dartmouth College
Xi (Dylan) Wang, Ph.D. – Senior Bioinformatics Scientist, Harvard Medical School
Marina Kirkland, Ph.D. – Associate Biosafety Officer, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Alayna Caffrey-Carr, Ph.D. – Scientific Lead in Discovery Oncology, Loxo Oncology at Lilly
Amy Graham, Ph.D. – Scientific Director, The Lockwood Group
Former Post-Doctoral Fellows:
Rachel Temple, Ph.D. – Key Account Executive, STEMCELL Technologies