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Noah Butler, PhD

Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

Introduction

Malaria remains a global heath crisis with billions of people at risk for developing this disease each year.

Our research is focused on understanding how the function of Plasmodium parasite-specific B cells and T cells are regulated during malaria. Our broader goals are to use this information to identify and develop new strategies to improve immunity against this globally important disease.

To achieve our goals, we are performing experiments designed to elucidate the molecular and transcriptional mechanisms that determine how infection, inflammation and immunotherapy impact the formation of long-lived, pathogen-specific memory T cell and B cell subsets.

As part of our efforts, we also perform comprehensive, comparative studies using models of vaccination, bacterial and viral infection, and we investigate host immunity using related eukaryotic pathogens.

Current Positions

  • Mark Stinski Professorship in Immunology
  • Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
  • Co-Director, Center for Immunology and Immune-based Diseases
  • Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics

Education

  • BS in Biological Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
  • MHS in Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland
  • PhD in Immunology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
  • Postdoctoral Fellow in Immunology, Department of Microbiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa

Graduate Program Affiliations

Center, Program and Institute Affiliations

Research Interests

  • Development and function of Plasmodium-specific CD4 + T cells
  • Regulation and suppression of Plasmodium-specific immunity by the hemoglobin digestion by-product, hemozoin
  • Regulation of Plasmodium-specific CD4+ T cells
  • Regulatory plasmablast populations triggered by Plasmodium infection

Selected Publications

  • Bernardi, J.P., Nappi, T.J. and Butler, N. S. (2024). Itaconate as a potential target for antimalarial therapy. Trends in Parasitology, Apr; 40(4):275-277. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2024.03.003. PMID: 38485579.
  • Nappi TL and Butler NS. (2024) Tragedy of the Commons: The resource struggle during Plasmodium infection. Trends in Parasitology. 2024 Dec;40(12):1135-1143. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2024.10.014.
  • Shao P, Antonetti RM, Hornick EH, Xue HH, Bishop GA, Butler NS. TRAF3 is critical for initial T follicular helper cell specification via coordination of the IL-6R/IL-2R-BCL6 signaling nexus. Science Immunology. (In Press)
  • Berton RR, Heidarian M, Kannan SK, Shah M, Butler NS, Harty JT, Badovinac VP. Accurate enumeration of pathogen-specific and virtual memory CD8 T cells after infection. Journal of Immunology. (In Press)
  • Guan X, Fury H, Issuree PD, Atagozli T, McManimon EE, Shao P, Li Y, Chimenti M, Butler NS, Kaplan MH, Elliott DE, Blazar BR, Ince MN. (2024) The Impact of Cell-Intrinsic STAT6 Protein on Donor T Cell-Mediated Graft-Versus-Tumor Effect. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2024 Dec 31;26(1):280. DOI: 10.3390/ijms26010280.
  • Johnson, J., Surette, F., Ausdahl, G., Shah, M., Mimms, A., Lindner, S., Zander, R. & Butler, N. (2024). CD4 T Cell-Derived IL-21 Is Critical for Sustaining Plasmodium Infection-Induced Germinal Center Responses and Promoting the Selection of Memory B Cells with Recall Potential. J Immunol 212 (9) 1467-1478. DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.2300683. PMID: 38477614. PMCID: PMC11018477.
  • Zhang, G., Niu, G., Hooker-Romera, D., Shabani, S., Ramelow, J., Wang, X., Butler, N. S., James, A. A. & Li, J. (2023). Targeting plasmodium α-tubulin-1 to block malaria transmission to mosquitoes. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology 13 1132647. DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1132647. PMID: 37009496; PMCID: PMC10064449.
  • Rogers, K. J., Richards, P. T., Zacharias, Z. R., Stunz, L. L., Vijay, R., Butler, N. S., Legge, K. L., Bishop, G. A. & Maury, W. J. (2023). CD40 signaling in mice elicits a broad antiviral response early during acute viral infection with RNA viruses. Viruses 15 (6) 1353. DOI: 10.3390/v15061353. PMID: 37376652. PMCID: PMC10305536.
  • Koike, T., Fujii, K., Kometani, K., Butler, N. S., Funakoshi, K., Yari, S., Kikuta, J., Ishii, m., Kurosaki, T. & Ise, W. (2023). Progressive differentiation toward the long-lived plasma cell compartment in the bone marrow. Journal of Experimental Medicine 220 (2) e20221717. DOI: 10.1084/jem.20221717. PMID: 36515679. PMCID: PMC9754767.
  • Shinnakasu, R., Inoue, T., Kawai, C., Yamamota, H., Sakakibara, S., Ono, C., Itoh, Y., Terooatea, T., Yamashita, K., Okamoto, T., Hashii, N., Ishii-Watabe, A., Butler, N. S., Matsuura, Y., Masumoto, H., Otsuka, S., Hiraoka, K., Teshima, T., Murakami, M. & Kurosaki, T. (2023). Antibody feedback contributes to facilitating the development of Omicron-reactive memory B cells in SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccinees. Journal of Experimental Medicine 220 (2) e20221786. DOI: 10.1084/jem.20221786. PMID: 36512034. PMCID: PMC9750191.