Darren J. Perkins, PhD
- Academic Title: Assistant Professor
- Primary Appointment: Microbiology and Immunology
- Additional Title: Assistant professor
- Email: dperkins@som.umaryland.edu
- Phone (Primary): 410-706-2374
- Phone (Secondary): 410-328-2345
- Fax: N/A
Education and Training
Duke University, Department of Biology, Durham, NC, B.S., 1996
Emory University, Depertment of Microbiology and Immunology, Atlanta, GA, Ph.D. 2003
Biosketch
I am an immunologist working in the field of innate immunology, which can be broadly defined as the set of molecular immune defenses each of us is born with prior to encountering any specific infection out in the world.
I began my research in innate immunology beginning with my doctoral work at Emory University where I studied the ways in which cells detect infection by RNA viruses and how host protein synthesis is controlled as a defense mechanism to restrict viral growth.
Subsequently, as a post-doctoral fellow with Dr. Stefanie Vogel I studied the ways in which the innate Toll Like Receptors (TLRs) sense many types of bacterial pathogens and orchestrate complex patterns of inflammation to clear infections
At the University of Maryland Baltimore, I am jointly appointed within the Department of Microbiology and Immunology in the School of Medicine and as a scientist within the Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center
Research/Clinical Keywords
Macrophage, lipopolysaccharide, LPS, type I Interferon, Toll-Like Receptors (TLRs), Salmonella
Highlighted Publications
Perkins DJ, Polumuri SK, Pennini ME, Lai W, Vogel SN. Reprogramming of murine macrophages through TLR2 confers viral resistance via TRAF3-mediated, enhanced interferon production. PLoS Pathog. 2013;9(7): Epub 2013 Jul 11.
Perkins DJ, Rajaiah R, Tennant SM, Ramachandran G, Higginson EE, Dyson TN, Vogel SN.Salmonella Typhimurium Co-Opts the Host Type I IFN System To Restrict Macrophage Innate Immune Transcriptional Responses Selectively. J Immunol. 2015 Sep 1;195(5):2461-71
Richard K, Vogel SN, Perkins DJ. Type I interferon licenses enhanced innate recognition and transcriptional responses to Francisella tularensis live vaccine strain. Innate immunity. 2016; 22(5):363-72.
Research Interests
The Perkins laboratory at UMB is focused on fundamental questions about how the human innate immune system maintains a constant surveillance for infection by a vast array of microbes (viral, bacterial and fungal) as well as simultaneously searching for signs of malignant tumor formation. We are particularly interested in the roles of innate pattern recognition systems and the regulation of key genes driving an inflammatory response.
Overall we try to create an aspirational environment that fosters both trainee progress and concept development in innate immunology in a data driven manner