The research in the Barratt-Boyes lab is focused on immunology and prevention of two infectious diseases of great importance to global human health – influenza and dengue.
Severe avian influenza in a nonhuman primate model: Avian influenza viruses circulate in wild waterfowl and poultry and up until recently have caused infrequent infections in humans with fatality rates of over 50%. In 2024, highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1viruses exploded around the globe and spilled into wildlife. At the end of 2024 the United Nations reported that avian influenza had caused the death of more than 300 million birds worldwide and was increasingly crossing species barriers. Avian influenza is now widespread in dairy cattle herds and poultry in the United States, and by January 2025 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had attributed 63 human cases and one death to H5N1 bird flu in the US. These recurrent zoonotic spillovers with pandemic potential underscore the urgent need for effective countermeasures. To test candidate vaccines and antibodies, we developed the first reproducible model of severe influenza in macaques using highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses delivered as small particle aerosols, in collaboration with Doug Reed, PhD, of the Center for Vaccine Research. Using this translational model, we are working with collaborators at other institutions to test candidate universal influenza vaccines and broadly neutralizing antibodies to prevent severe avian influenza in humans in the event of an influenza pandemic.
Dengue virus infection in human skin: Dengue is a systemic viral disease caused by dengue virus that also is expanding rapidly across the globe, particularly in the Americas, where the Pan American Health Organization reported almost 13 million cases in 2024. Infection with any of the four dengue virus serotypes is most often self-limiting, but a significant number of cases presents with severe dengue which can be fatal. The virus is transmitted into skin via the bites of infected mosquitoes, but we do not know how the mosquito interacts with the virus and host to effect transmission and spread within the body. African ancestry is associated with protection from severe dengue, but the mechanisms for this are not known. To study these questions in a relevant translational model, we developed a human skin explant model using specimens discarded from anonymous donors having elective plastic surgery. Using this model, we are exploring the effects of genetic ancestry on dengue virus infection and have collaborated with vector biologists at the University of Texas Medical Branch to study mosquito transmission.
1984 | Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand | Bachelor of Veterinary Science
1993 | University of California, Davis | PhD in Comparative Pathology
1996 | University of Pittsburgh | Postdoctoral fellow in tumor immunology
Co-Director, IDM 2003 Host Response to Microbial Infection
Kanekiyo M, Gillespie RA, Cooper K, Guerra Canedo V, Castanha PMS, Pegu A, Yang ES, Treaster L, Yun G, Wallace M, Kettenburg G, Williams C, Lundy J, Barrick S, O’Malley KJ, Midgett M, Martí MM, Chavva H, Corry J, Treat B, Lipinski A, Ortiz L, Creanga A, Ritter I, Walker R, Olsen E, Laughlin A, Perez D, Mascola JR, Boritz EA, Loo Y-M, Blair W, Esser M, Graham BS, Reed DS, Barratt-Boyes SM. (2025). Pre-exposure antibody prophylaxis protects macaques from severe influenza disease. Science; 387: 534-541. PMID: 39883776
Malouli D, Tiwary M, Gilbride RM, Morrow DW, Hughes CM, Selseth A, Penney T, Castanha PMS, Wallace M, Yeung Y, Midgett M, Williams C, Reed J, Yu Y, Gao L, Yun G, Treaster L, Laughlin A, Lundy J, Tisoncik-Go J, Whitmore LS, Aye PP, Schiro F, Dufour JP, Papen CR, Taher H, Picker LJ, Früh K, Gale Jr M, Maness NJ, Hansen SG, Barratt-Boyes SM, Reed DS, Sacha JB (2024). Cytomegalovirus vaccine vector-induced effector memory CD4+ T cells protect cynomolgus macaques from lethal aerosolized avian influenza challenge. Nat Comm; 15: 6007. PMCID: PMC11272155.
Castanha PMS, Azar SR, Yeung J, Wallace M, Kettenburg G, Watkins SC, Marques ETA, Vasilakis N, Barratt-Boyes SM. (2024). Aedes aegypti mosquito probing enhances dengue virus infection of resident myeloid cells in human skin. Viruses; 16: 1253. PMCID: PMC11360165.
Kanekiyo M, Gillespie RA, Midgett M, O’Malley KJ, Williams C, Moin SM, Wallace M, Treaster L, Cooper K, Syeda HZ, Kettenburg G, Rannulu H, Schmer T, Castanha PMS, Corry J, Xia M, Olsen E, Perez D, Yun G, Graham BS, Barratt-Boyes SM, Reed DS. (2023). Refined semi-lethal aerosol H5N1 influenza model in cynomolgus macaques for evaluation of medical countermeasures. iScience; 26: 107830. PMCID: PMC10520834
Castanha PMS, Tuttle DJ, Kitsios GD, Jacobs JL, Brago-Neto U, Duespohl M, Rathod S, Martí MM, Wheeler S, Naqvi A, Staines B, Mellors J, Morris A, McVerry BJ, Shah F, Schaefer C, Macatangay BJC, Methe B, Fernandez CA, Barratt-Boyes SM, Burke DS, Marques ETA (2022). Contribution of coronavirus-specific immunoglobulin G responses to complement overactivation in patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019. J Infect Dis; 226: 766-777. PMCID: PMC8992249
Chen C, Saville JW, Martí MM, Schafer A, Cheng MH, Mannar D, Berezuk AM, Banerjee A, Sobolewski MD, Kim A, Treat BR, Castanha PMS, Enick N, McCormick KD, Liu X, Adams C, Hines MG, Sun Z, Chen W, Jacobs JL, Barratt-Boyes SM, Mellors JW, Baric RS, Bahar I, Dimitrov DS, Subramaniam S, Martinex DR, Li W (2022). Potent and broad neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) including omicron sub-lineages BA.1 and BA.2 by biparatopic human VH domains. iScience; 25: 104798. PMCID: PMC9296321
Castanha PMS, Duangkhae D, Erdos G, Watkins SC, Falo LD, Marques ETA, Barratt-Boyes SM (2020). Reciprocal immune enhancement of dengue and Zika virus infection in human skin. JCI Insight; 5: e133653. PMCID: PMC7098780
