Laboratory of Lisa K. Ryan, PhD

Associate Professor - Department Oral Immunology & Infectious Diseases

Research interests

Viral induction and innate immunity of defensins, especially human beta-defensin-1 (hBD-1), studying HSV, HIV, influenza and SARS-CoV2.
Understanding immunomodulation of antimicrobial peptides by various environmental exposures, including vanadium and Vitamin D.
Development of anti-fungal and anti-viral drugs, which are based on antimicrobial peptide structure, on oral and respiratory infections in collaboration with Gill Diamond, Ph.D.

RYAN, L.K., DIAMOND, G. Modulation of human beta-defensin-1 production by viruses. 2017.
Viruses 9(6): pii: E153. https://doi.org/10.3390/v9060153. PMID: 28635669
DIAMOND, G., RYAN, L.K. Beta-defensins: what are they REALLY doing in the oral cavity? Oral Diseases, 17:628-635, 2011. PMID: 21332602
DIAMOND, G., BECKLOFF, N., RYAN, LK. Host defense peptides in the oral cavity and the lung: similarities and differences. Journal of Dental Research, 87:915-927, 2008. PMID: 18809744
DIAMOND, G., LEGARDA, D., RYAN, L.K. The innate immune response of the respiratory epithelium. Immunological Reviews, 173:27-38, 2000. PMID: 10719665

Key book chapters

RYAN, L.K. Ozone. In: Cohen M, Zelikoff J, Schlesinger R (eds.). Pulmonary Immunotoxicology. Kluwer Publishing Co., NY; pp. 301-336, 2000.
LAUBE, D.M., YIM, S., RYAN, L.K., KISICH, K.O., DIAMOND, G. Antimicrobial peptides in the airway. In: Antimicrobial Peptides in Human Diseases. W. Shafer, ed., Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology, 306:155-184, 2006. PMID: 16909921
RYAN, L.K. Vanadium pentoxide effects on the lung. In: Uversky V, Kretsinger RH, and Permyakov EA (ed.) Encyclopedia of Metalloproteins. Springer, NY, NY; pp. 2324- 2330, 2013.
CHOWDHURY, M.H., DIAMOND, G., RYAN, L.K. Synergy of Antimicrobial Peptides. In: Wang G. (ed). Antimicrobial Peptides, 2^nd Edition: Discovery, Design and Novel Therapeutic Strategies. CABI, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, U.K.; pp. 188-201, 2017.
RYAN, L.K. Innate Immunity and the Cancer Microenvironment. In: Mukherjee, B. (ed.) Novel Molecular Onco-targets and Nano-oncotherapeutics. 2021. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Ltd., UK; pp. 2-10, 2022.