Academic Background

Victor Boyartchuk received his M.S. in 1989 from the Kiev National University in Kiev, Ukraine, and his Ph.D. in 1998 from the University of California at Berkeley. From 1998 to 2002, he was a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, where his work was supported by a fellowship from the Irvington Institute for Immunological Research. Dr. Boyartchuck joined the Program in Gene Function and Expression at the University of Massachusetts Medical School as an Assistant Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology in the spring of 2003.

Studies of the Genetic Factors Controlling Susceptibility to Infectious Diseases using Animal Model Systems

Innate immunity plays a critical role in the host's initial defense against infectious agents. My lab is interested in investigating the genetic basis that underlies differences in susceptibility to infectious diseases. Towards this goal, we are identifying and characterizing the variability in host genes which directly contribute to disease susceptibility. Analyzing the functional consequences of such polymorphisms will allow us to understand more fully the workings of the immune system.

Studies using inbred mouse strains have revealed a number of genetic differences in strain-specific immune responses to infectious diseases. One pathogen eliciting such a differential response is Listeria monocytogenes, a Gram positive facultative intracellular bacterium. Resistance to Listeria infection requires the participation of virtually all components of innate immunity, making this bacterium an ideal tool for studying innate immune functions. Using genetic analysis of differentially susceptible mouse strains, we have identified two major loci in the mouse genome that are likely to harbor genes controlling the course of Listeria infection. Systematic analysis of the expression of genes contained in these regions has identified several promising candidates. Our current work is directed towards identifying mutations that cause differential expression of these genes, and testing of the nature of their effect of the outcome of the infection.

Differences in host immune function usually result in very pleiotropic effects. Therefore, genes shown to affect susceptibility to one infectious disease are likely to play a role in determining the course of other infections. One of our future goals is to identify and characterize the range of pathogen responses that are controlled by each of the genes we are studying. Ultimately, we hope to apply the knowledge we have gained in our studies of disease susceptibility in animal models to customizing the management and treatment of infections in humans.