Gern Laboratory

Major Research Interests

The Gern Laboratory Group is conducting several NIH-funded studies to define the role of viral infections in the initiation and disease activity of asthma, and to identify interactions between host and viral factors that determine the severity of respiratory illnesses. Dr. Gern is the Principal Investigator for the University of Wisconsin Asthma and Allergic Diseases Clinical Research Center (AADCRC). This is a collaborative program involving investigators in the Allergy/Immunology Division and basic scientists (Ann Palmenberg, Institute of Molecular Virology; Paul Bertics, Biomolecular Chemistry; Lou Rosenthal, Pediatrics; Wai Ming Lee, Pediatrics) at the University of Wisconsin. The goals of the project are to determine how infections with rhinoviruses cause exacerbations of asthma in children. The AADCRC clinical project is known as RhinoGen, and is a large observational study of 400 children (half with asthma) to identify host and genetic factors that promote more severe rhinovirus illnesses and exacerbations of asthma.

The Gern Laboratory Group is working on two birth cohort studies of asthma. As part of the Childhood Origins of Asthma (COAST) study, we are identifying new strains of rhinoviruses, and determining whether there are specific strains associated with more severe illnesses and acute asthma. In addition, Dr. Gern leads the Urban Environment and Childhood Asthma (URECA) study for the Inner City Asthma Consortium. The goal of this birth cohort study is to identify lifestyle and environmental factors (including viral infections) unique to the urban environment that influence early immune development to increase the risks for allergic diseases and asthma.

Finally, the laboratory is conducting translational research projects to identify virus-induced inflammatory mechanisms involving airway epithelial cells and T regulatory cells, and experimental inoculation studies of volunteers with asthma using a safety-tested strain of rhinovirus.

Staff

Svetlana P. Amineva Assistant Scientist	Yury A. Bochkov, PhD Assistant Researcher	Jack A. Bork Research Specialist	Rebecca A. Brockman-Schneider Associate Researcher	Lillian Chen Graduate Trainee
Amy S. Dresen Senior Research Specialist	Heather L. Floerke Associate Research Specialist	Lauren R. George Student Hourly	Kristine A. Grindle Research Specialist	Kathleen S. Hemauer Associate Research Specialist
Theresa J. Kang Associate Research Specialist	Wai-Ming Lee Senior Scientist	Guiyan Liu Visiting Scholar	Tressa E. Pappas Research Specialist	Lisa E. Salazar Research Specialist
Haley B. Stellmacher Student Hourly	Fue Vang Research Specialist

Active Grants

Asthma and Allergic Diseases Clinical Research Center: Mechanisms of Rhinovirus-Induced Exacerbations of Asthma
NIH NIAID U19 AI070503-01
09/01/06–08/31/11

COAST III – Rhinovirus Infection and Childhood Asthma
NIH-NHLBI P01 HL070831 (Lemanske)
5/01/08–03/31/13

NIAID Inner City Asthma Consortium: Immunologic Approaches to Reduced Asthma
RFP/contract #NIH-NIAID-DAIT-02-11 (Busse)
09/30/02-09/29/09

Wisconsin Allergy and Immunology Research, Training Program
NIH-NIAID 2 T32 AI007635-06 (Gern)
10/01/05-9/30/10

T Regulatory Cells and Childhood Asthma
NIH/NIAID R01 HL080072-01 (Gern)
9/01/04–05/31/09

The Effect of ‘Adjustable’ Treatment with Budesonide/Formoterol on Rhinovirus Provoked Exacerbations of Asthma
AstraZeneca Investigator-sponsored Study (Busse)
12/15/08-12/14/10

Honors & Awards

Armed Forces Health Sciences Scholarship	1978
Clinical Allergy Fellowship Award Allen and Hanburys Respiratory Institute	1992
Gerard B. Odell Research Award Department of Pediatrics University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health	1996
The Dean’s Award for Excellence in Health Care Communication University of Wisconsin-Madison	1998
Society for Pediatric Research	2001-2009
AAAAI Visiting Professorship New England Medical Center, Boston, MA. Section on Allergy and Immunology American Academy of Pediatrics	2002
“Best Doctors in America”	2002-2009
Consumers’ Research Council of America “Guide to America’s Top Pediatricians"	2004
AAAAI Visiting Professorship Phoenix Children’s Hospital Section on Allergy and Immunology American Academy of Pediatrics	2002
Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Visiting Lecturer University of Alberta and University of Calgary, Canada	2006
Elected to the American Pediatric Society	2006
Riven Visiting Lecturer Vanderbilt University, Nashville TN	2007
Elliott Middleton Memorial Lecturer American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Annual Meeting	2008

Recent Publications

Jartti T, Burmeister K, Seroogy C, Jennens-Clough ML Tisler C, Salazar L, DaSilva D, Evans M, Vrtis R, Wallace PK, Ruiz-Perez B, Gangnon R, Lemanske RF Jr, Gern JE. Association between CD4+CD25high T cells and atopy in children. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2007;120(1):177-83.

Lee WM, Kiesner C, Pappas T, Lee I, Grindle K, Jartti T, Jakiela B, Lemanske, RF, Shult PA, Gern JE. A diverse group of previously unrecognized human rhinoviruses are common causes of respiratory illnesses in infants. PLoS ONE. 2007;2(10):e966.

Jakiela B, Brockman-Schneider R, Amineva S, Lee WM, Gern JE. Basal cells of differentiated bronchial epithelium are more susceptible to rhinovirus infection, Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2008;38:517-23.

Ober C, Tan Z, Sun Y, Possick JD, Pan L, Nicolae R, Radford S, Parry RP, Heinzmann A, Deichmann KA, Lester LA, Gern JE, Lemanske RF Jr, Nicolae DL, Elias JA, Chupp GL. Variation in the CHI3L1 gene influences serum YKL-40 levels, asthma risk, and lung function. NEJM. 2008;358:1682-91.

Gern JE, Stone CK, Nakano M, Muchmore DB, de la Peña A, Park S, Suri A, Tibaldi F, Soon D, Busse WW. Effect of upper respiratory tract infection on AIR® inhaled insulin pharmacokinetics and glucodynamics in healthy subjects. Clin Pharmacol Therapeutics. 2008;83:307-311.

Bufford JD, Reardon CL, Li Z, Roberg KA, Tisler C, Anderson E, DaSilva D, Eggleston PA, Liu A, Milton D, Alwis U, Gangnon R, Lemanske RF Jr, Gern JE. Effects of dog exposure in early childhood on immune development and atopic diseases. Clinical and Experimental Allergy. 2008;38:1635-43.

Jartti T, Lee WM, Pappas T, Evans M, Lemanske RF Jr, Gern JE. Serial viral infections in infants with recurrent respiratory illnesses. European Respiratory Journal. 2008;32(2):314-20.

Jackson DJ, Evans MD, Anderson EL, Salazar L, DaSilva DF, Pappas TE, Roberg KA, Tisler CJ, Gangnon R, Gern JE, Lemanske RF Jr. Wheezing rhinovirus illnesses during early childhood predict the subsequent development of asthma. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 2008;178:667-672.

Brockman-Schneider RA, Amineva S, Bulat MV, Gern JE. Serial culture of murine primary airway epithelial cells and ex vivo replication of human rhinoviruses. J Immunol Methods. 2008;339:264-6.

Denlinger LC, Shi L, Guadarrama A, Schell K, Green D, Morrin A, Hogan K, Sorkness RL, Busse WW, Gern JE. Attenuated P2X7 pore function as a risk factor for virus induced loss of asthma control. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2009;179:265-270.

UW Global navigation

Local navigation