Tammy Kielian, PhD
Choudari Kommineni, DVM, PhD, Professor of Pathology
Professor, UNMC Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology
Tammy Kielian, PhD, holds the Choudari Kommineni, DVM, PhD, endowed professorship of pathology in the UNMC Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology.
Dr. Kielian’s research interests span the fields of immunology, infectious diseases and neuroscience, with a unifying theme of innate immunity. Her laboratory has a long-standing interest in studying the pathogenesis and immune responses elicited by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) biofilm using mouse models of prosthetic joint and craniotomy infection.
Dr. Kielian was named the UNMC Scientist Laureate in 2016, the highest honor that UNMC bestows on researchers.
Her laboratory also collaborates with orthopaedic surgeons and neurosurgeons at UNMC to explore immune responses in patients with prosthetic joint and craniotomy infections with the goal of identifying novel immune biomarkers for infection diagnosis and therapy.
Dr. Kielian has served as a regular and ad-hoc member on numerous NIH study section panels and her research program has been continuously funded by the NIH since its inception in 2001.
She received a bachelor's degree in biological sciences from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1991, a master's degree in immunology from Kansas State University in 1994, a PhD in microbiology from the University of Kansas Medical Center in 1998, and completed postdoctoral training in neuroimmunology at Dartmouth Medical School.
In 2001, she established her independent laboratory at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and was recruited to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2008.
- BS: Biological sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1991.
- MS: Immunology, Kansas State University, 1994.
- PhD: Microbiology, University of Kansas Medical Center, 1998.
- Postdoctoral fellowship: Dartmouth Medical School. 1998-2000.
Dr. Kielian’s research interests span the fields of immunology, infectious diseases, and neuroscience with a unifying theme of innate immunity. Her laboratory has a long-standing interest in studying the pathogenesis and immune responses elicited by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) both in the periphery and the central nervous system, with a particular emphasis on microglial and astrocyte activation.
- Honorary Alumnus Award, UNMC Graduate Studies Alumni Council, 2022.
- Outstanding Mentor of Graduate Students Award, UNMC Faculty Senate, 2022.
- Outstanding Mentor of Junior Research Faculty Award, UNMCDepartment of Pathology and Microbiology, 2019.
- 11th UNMC Science Laureate, 2016.
- Jordi Folch Pi Memorial Award, American Society for Neurochemistry for outstanding contributions to neuroscience research, 2006.
- American Association of Immunologists
- Society for Leukocyte Biology
- American Society for Microbiology
- Society for Neuroscience
- American Society for Neurochemistry