October 12, 2020
Dr. Vladimir Badovinac has been awarded the Pathology Professorship in Infection and Immunity Research. Vladimir joined the Department of Pathology in 2007 and is currently a tenured Professor.
After receiving his Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Belgrade, Dr. Badovinac moved to the University of Iowa to perform a post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. John Harty. After completing his fellowship in 2002, Vladimir continued to work with Dr. Harty as a Research Scientist prior to joining Pathology. During his time in the Harty laboratory, Dr. Badovinac had a major impact on existing and new lines of investigation and was very productive with multiple first author papers in high impact journals. These were in addition to multiple co-authorships and review articles.
As a faculty member in Pathology, Dr. Badovinac has continued to be a highly productive investigator. He has maintained a strong presence in the field of T cell biology with an emphasis on effector and memory CD8+ T cell responses after infection or vaccination. Equally important, Vladimir developed a second line of investigation exploring immunoparalysis after sepsis that has gained national attention. It is well known that patients who survive a septic episode are much more likely to succumb to infection in subsequent years due to prolonged immune dysfunction. However, the basis for this lesion is poorly understood and few experimental immunologists have explored the problem. Dr. Badovinac recognized this need and developed a multi-faceted program to reveal, both at the molecular and cellular level, the nature of this immunosuppression.
Vladimir publishes multiple articles each year, with many appearing in prestigious journals. He is currently PI or Co-PI on four NIH grants including a recently awarded R35 (Maximizing Investigators' Research Award) grant. In addition to his research program, Dr. Badovinac is an active teacher in both the classroom and laboratory, and has successfully mentored a growing number of graduate students. He also contributes his time to multiple committees and activities within the department and institution, as well as to editorial and grant review at the national level.