Martha B. Furie, PhD, Professor | Renaissance School of Medicine

Research Summary:

The Furie Laboratory has a broad interest in how the body’s innate immune system interacts with bacterial pathogens, including Borrelia burgdorferi (the agent of Lyme disease) and Francisella tularensis (the cause of tularemia). A particular focus is on recruitment of circulating leukocytes to infected tissues. This recruitment is controlled by the endothelial cells that line the blood vessels. When activated, endothelial cells express adhesion molecules and secrete attractants that direct the movement of the white cells from the blood into infected tissues. These leukocytes play an essential role in host defense, but their anti-microbial weaponry can also injure healthy tissues if unleashed inappropriately or excessively. Using in vitro and in vivo approaches, we have dissected the mechanisms whereby B. burgdorferi and F. tularensis regulate recruitment of leukocytes. Another area of major interest is interactions of F. tularensis with hepatocytes, the main cells of the liver. F. tularensis grows within hepatocytes, and we aim to understand how the bacteria and the host cells mutually adapt and respond to the intracellular infection.

Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
• B.S. in Genetics, 1974

The Rockefeller University, New York, NY
• Ph.D. in Protein Chemistry, 1980

1980–1984: Postdoctoral Fellow, The Rockefeller University
1980–1986: Associate Research Scientist, Columbia University
1986–1992: Assistant Professor of Pathology, Stony Brook University
1992–2000: Associate Professor of Pathology, Stony Brook University
1992–Present: Graduate Program Faculty, Molecular and Cellular Biology
2000–Present: Professor of Pathology, Stony Brook University
2000–Present: Graduate Program Faculty, Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
2003–Present: Graduate Program Faculty, Genetics
2005–Present: Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Stony Brook University
2009–Present: School of Medicine Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure Committee
2013–Present: University Graduate Council
2014–Present: Director, Graduate Program in Genetics

1992–Present: American Society for Investigative Pathology
1993–2008: Editorial Board, The American Journal of Pathology
2004–2006: Program Chair, Annual Meeting of the American Society for Investigative Pathology
2006–2009: Chair, Education Committee, American Society for Investigative Pathology
2006–Present: Council Member, American Society for Investigative Pathology
2007–Present: American Society for Microbiology
2008–2012: Associate Editor, The American Journal of Pathology
2011–2012: President, American Society for Investigative Pathology
2013–Present: Senior Associate Editor, The American Journal of Pathology

1974: B.S. with Honors and Distinction
1974–1977: National Science Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship
1980–1981: Damon Runyon–Walter Winchell Cancer Fund Postdoctoral Fellowship
1981–1984: National Cancer Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship
1985–1986: Investigatorship, New York Heart Association
1987–1990: Aaron Diamond Foundation Scholar
1988–1991: Alexandrine and Alexander L. Sinsheimer Fund Scholar