Jeffrey Klausner
University of Southern California, CA·Medicine & Clinical Research
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) remain common and can cause serious harm, from preterm births to long-term complications of syphilis. This research portfolio approaches STIs from several angles.
- Fields
Medicine & Clinical Research
Public Health & Epidemiology
Microbiology & Immunology
- Topics
sexually transmitted infections
syphilis
Treponema pallidum
- Grants
- 3 known grants, through Oct 2028
What they work on
- Test whether chlamydia, gonorrhea or trichomoniasis detected in stored third-trimester vaginal specimens is linked to higher preterm birth risk, and whether risk differs by type of infection.
- Determine, in a randomized multisite trial of 360 people with early syphilis, whether 10 days of oral cefixime is non-inferior to injected benzathine penicillin G, based on a 4-fold fall in RPR antibody titer by 6 months.
- Identify predictors of syphilis treatment failure among trial participants with and without HIV, followed every 3 months for 9 months.
- Compare symptoms at diagnosis and reinfection rates between people with first-time and repeat syphilis in a prospective cohort in Lima, Peru.
- Identify Treponema pallidum antigens tied to reinfection and proteins that activate CD4 helper T cells, and profile T cell receptor responses before and after treatment.
- Use RNA sequencing of whole blood before and after treatment to find host gene-activity signatures that distinguish active from resolved syphilis.
More about the research
One project looks at how infections late in pregnancy relate to early delivery. Another tests a new oral antibiotic for syphilis. A third probes the immune response to syphilis in order to improve diagnosis and inform vaccine design.
Why it matters
Findings could help clinicians decide when and how often to test pregnant people for chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis to prevent preterm births. A proven oral alternative to injected penicillin could give syphilis patients, including people with HIV, another safe treatment option. Immune and blood gene-activity markers may lead to tests that tell active from past syphilis and could inform syphilis vaccine design.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Makella Coudray
University of Central Florida, FL·Public Health & Epidemiology·Early-career
Assess the acceptability, feasibility and accuracy of self-collected versus clinician-collected genital and non-genital specimens for STI detection among trans women, using mixed methods.
William Geisler
University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL·Medicine & Clinical Research·Early-career
Determine whether the HLA-DQB1*06 gene variant and chlamydia-specific CD4+ IFN-gamma responses from helper T cells can predict new Chlamydia trachomatis infections in women, to guide testing frequency.
Emily Adhikari
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, TX·Medicine & Clinical Research·Early-career
Define types of placental tissue damage in pregnancies with syphilis and correlate them with Treponema pallidum burden and newborn outcomes, compared with gestational age–matched healthy controls.
The school
University of Southern California: 47 labs on PI Pages, $1.3B a year on research, 882 research doctorates a year.
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