Alison Criss is an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology in the School of Medicine. Dr. Criss’s laboratory investigates how pathogenic microorganisms manipulate the immune system in order to cause disease, focusing on the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae, an antibiotic-resistant “superbug” that infects hundreds of millions of people worldwide each year. The ultimate goal of this research is to identify targets in the host or pathogen for developing vaccines and new antimicrobial drugs, while preventing sterility and other negative outcomes associated with the inflammatory response to infection. This research is supported by the National Institutes of Health and local and statewide sources of funding. Dr. Criss’ honors include the American Society for Microbiology / Interscience Conference for Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy Young Investigator Award, the School of Medicine Dean’s Awards for Excellence in Research and in Teaching, election to the UVA Academy of Distinguished Educators, and selection as a UVA Pinn Scholar. At UVA, Dr. Criss serves on the Executive Committee of the NIH-sponsored Infectious Diseases Training Grant and the Advisory Committee for the Biomedical Data Sciences Training Grant. She serves on the editorial boards of several journals, was editor of the Thematic Issue on Pathogenic Neisseria in the journal Pathogens and Disease (2017), has been on organizing committees of international scientific conferences, and is Chair of the 2019 Mid-Atlantic Microbial Pathogenesis Meeting. 

Criss Lab Website

Email: akc2r@virginia.edu