Summer Institute in
Infectious Diseases 2005
IMPACTS OF
INFECTIOUS DISEASES
ON LOCAL + GLOBAL COMMUNITIES
Monday, May 30 – Friday, June 3, 2005
Biography:
Jody D. Berry, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Immunology
University of Manitoba
Immunologist, NCFAD-CFIADr. Berry is a microbial-immunologist who studies and develops novel immuno-reagents to BT-agents, emerging pathogens and foreign animal agents. His group uses both classical hybridoma techniques and recombinant antibody techniques to continuously refine and improve antibody development technology.
His research interests are on the immunogenetics of protective antibody responses to emerging pathogens aimed towards the development of novel methods of pre-symptomatic diagnosis. Dr. Berry received his doctoral training at the University of Manitoba developing and characterizing neutralizing monoclonal antibody against microbes. Dr. Berry went to Post-Doctoral training at The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla on a Canadian International Fellowship. This work led to the first selection of recombinant human mAbs to gp120 cloned from cervical lymphocytes of HIV-1 resistant prostitutes from Nairobi, Kenya in a collaboration set-up with Dr. Frank Plummer (University of Manitoba). At Scripps, Dr. Berry refined his hybridoma techniques by collaborating with technical staff in Dr. Richard Lerner’s lab, co-housed in the same lab of the Beckman center. Dr. Berry was the first to develop neutralizing mAbs to the SARS-CoV shortly after the causative agent was confirmed (ca. July 2003). Dr. Berry received a Government of Canada Public Service Commendation Award for Canadian BT response post 9/11 (2002) and has published more than 40 scientific publications, and holds several patents on antibody technology. Dr. Berry uses standardized methods and has produced neutralizing mAbs to many pathogens.