Special Pathogens

Gary P. Kobinger, Ph.D.

Head of Special Pathogens, Head, Vector Design and Immunotherapy, Special Pathogens Program, National Microbiology Labororatory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Adjunct Professor, Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba.

Degrees: B.Sc. Laval University, QC, 1993: Ph.D., University of Montreal, QC, 1998. Post-doctoral training, University of Pennsylvania, Philadephia, 1999-2003.

Telephone: (204) 784-5923          Lab: (204) 784-5935
Fax: (204) 789-2140
Email:  gary.kobinger@phac-aspc.gc.ca

Research Interests:

The Special Pathogens Program provides Canada’s diagnostic and reference services for risk group 4 (RG4) pathogens. Field and surveillance support is also made available nationally and occasionally internationally. Innovative research on RG4 pathogens as well as training of graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and international partners are additional important focuses of the program. Research interests include investigations on the molecular biology, epidemiology, pathogenesis and host immune responses of RG4 pathogens as well as the development of clinical modalities to cure or prevent infections (e.g. antivirals, vaccines etc.). Developing sensitive and specific diagnostic tests and systems to detect and monitor RG4 pathogens is also a priority, including approaches that can be used successfully in field studies and outbreak settings.   

Recent Publications:

2009

• Qiu X, Fernando L, Alimonti JB, Melito PL, Feldmann F, Dick D, Ströher U, Feldmann H, Jones SM (2009). “Mucosal immunization of cynomolgus macaques with the VSVDeltaG/ZEBOVGP vaccine stimulates strong ebola GP-specific immune responses”. PLoS One. 4(5):e5547.
• Maisa A, Ströher U, Klenk HD, Garten W, Strecker T (2009). „Inhibition of Lassa Virus Glycoprotein Cleavage and Multicycle Replication by Site 1 Protease-Adapted alpha(1)-Antitrypsin Variants”. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 3(6):e446.
• JA Cordova, MD, M Hernandez, MD, PhD, Office of the Secretary of Health; H Lopez-Gatell, MD, PhD, I Bojorquez, MD, PhD, E Palacios, MD, G Rodriguez, MD, B de la Rosa, MD, R Ocampo, MD, Directorate General of Epidemiology; C Alpuche, MD, PhD, R Flores, MS, National Institute for Epidemiologic Reference and Diagnostics; JE Hernandez, MD, PhD, National Institute of Public Health, Mexico. Pan American Health Organization,World Health Organization. J Tustin, MS, K Watkins, MHSc, TL Stuart, PhD, T Kuschak, PhD, U Ströher, PhD, G Soule, B Balcewich, Public Health Agency of Canada. E Azziz-Baumgartner, MD, K Lafond, MPH, J Mott, PhD, F Mahoney, MD, T Uyeki, MD, M McCarron, MPH, A Mounts, MD, MA Widdowson, VetMB, X Xu, MD, B Shu, MD, S Lindstrom, PhD, A Klimov, PhD, J Katz, PhD, J Winchell, PhD, S Penaranda, N Dybdahl-Sissoko, K Ching, MD, PhD, A Warner, MPA, K Etienne, MPH, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; S Waterman, MD, National Center for Preparedness, Detection, and Control of Infectious Diseases; J McAuliffe, MD, S Dowell, MD, Coordinating Office for Global Health; PR Chavez, PhD, EIS Officer, CDC. CDC. Update: Novel Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Infection — Mexico, March–May, 2009. MMWR 2009;58:585–9
• Schlie K, Maisa A, Lennartz F, Ströher U, Garten W, Strecker T (2009). „Characterization of Lassa virus glycoprotein oligomerization and influence of cholesterol on virus replication. J Virol. 2009 Nov 4.
• P. Sriwiriyanont, A. Hachiya, W.L. Pickens, A. Ohuchi, T. Kitahara, Y. Takema, W.J. Kitzmiller, M.O. Visscher, R. Tsuboi, A. Bello and G.P. Kobinger. Lentiviral Vector-Mediated Gene Transfer to Human Hair Follicles.  Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2009 Feb 26.
• Kugel D, Kochs G, Obojes K, Roth J, Kobinger G.P., Kobasa D, Haller O, Staeheli P, von Messling V. Intranasal Administration of Interferon-Alpha Reduces Seasonal Influenza A Virus Morbidity in Ferrets. Journal of Virology. 2009 Apr;83(8):3843-51.
• Ami Patel, Kaylie Tran, Michael Gray, Tracy Taylor, Yan Li, Heinz Feldmann, Darwyn Kobasa and G.P. Kobinger. Evaluation of conserved and variable influenza antigens for immunization against different isolates of H5N1 viruses. Vaccine, 2009 May 18;27(23):3083-9.
• Jason Richardson, Michel Yao, Kaylie Tran, Maria Croyle, Jim Strong, Heinz Feldmann and G.P. Kobinger. Enhanced Protection Against Ebola Virus Mediated by an Improved Adenovirus-Based Vaccine. PLoS ONE, 2009;4(4):e5308.
• Alexander Bello, Kaylie Tran, Heinz Feldmann, Monica Doria, Alberto Auricchio and G.P. Kobinger. Isolation and Characterization of Novel Adeno-Associated Viruses from Porcine Tissues. Gene Therapy, 2009 Jul 23. [Epub ahead of print].
• Beaudet MJ, Rueda N, Kobinger GP, Villeneuve J, Vallières L. Construction of a ganciclovir-sensitive lentiviral vector to assess the influence of angiopoietin-3 and soluble Tie2 on glioma growth. Journal of Neuro Oncology. 2009 Dec 18.
• Chaipan, C., Kobasa, D., Bertram, S., Glowacka, I., Steffen, I., Solomon Tsegaye, T., Takeda, M., Bugge, T., Kim, S., Park, Y., Marzi, A., and Pöhlmann, S. (2009) Proteolytic activation of the 1918 influenza virus hemagglutinin.  J. Virol. 83:3200.
• Kugel, D., Kochs, G., Obojes, K., Roth, J., Kobinger, G.P., Kobasa, D., Haller, O., Staeheli, P., and von Messling, V. (2009) Intranasal Administration of Interferon-Alpha Reduces Seasonal Influenza A Virus Morbidity in Ferrets. J. Virol. 83:3843-3851.
  Patel, A., Tran, K., Gray, M., Li, Y., Ao, Z., Yao, X., Kobasa, D., Kobinger, G.P. (2009) Evaluation of conserved and variable influenza antigens for immunization against different isolates of H5N1 viruses. Vaccine  27:3083-3089.
• Cillóniz, C., Shinya, K., Peng, X., Korth, M.J., Proll, S.C., Aicher, L.D., Carter, V.S., Chang, J.H., Kobasa, D., Feldmann, F., Strong, J.E., Feldmann, H., Kawaoka, Y., Katze, M.G. (2009) Lethal influenza virus infection in macaques is associated with early dysregulation of inflammatory related genes. PLoS Pathog. 5:e1000604.
• Palacios G, Quan P, Jabado OJ, Hirschberg DL, Liu Y, Zhai J, Renwick N, Conlan S, Hui J, Hegyi H, Grolla A, Strong JE, Towner JS, Geisbert TW, Jahrling PB, Buchen-Osmond C, Ellerbrok H, Sanchez-Seco MP, Lussier Y, Formenty P, Nichol ST, Feldmann H, Briese T and Lipkin WI. Panmicrobial oligonucleotide array for diagnosis of infectious diseases. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 2007. Jan;13(1):73-81.
• Bente D, Gren J, Strong JE, and Feldmann H. Disease Modelling for Ebola and Marburg viruses. Dis Model Mech. 2009 Jan;2(1-2):12-7.
• Richardson JS, Yao MK, Tran KN, Croyle MA, Strong JE, Feldmann H, Kobinger GP. Enhanced protection against Ebola virus mediated by an improved adenovirus-based vaccine. PLoS ONE. 2009;4(4):e5308. Epub 2009 Apr 23.
• Cillóniz C, Shinya K, Peng X, Korth MJ, Proll SC, Aicher LD, Carter VS, Chang JH, Kobasa D, Feldmann F, Strong JE, Feldmann H, Kawaoka Y, Katze MG. Lethal influenza virus infection in macaques is associated with early dysregulation of inflammatory related genes. PLoS Pathog. 2009 Oct;5(10):e1000604. Epub 2009 Oct 2.

2008

• Z. Ao, A. Patel, K. Tran, X. He, K. Fowke, K. Coombs, D. Kobasa, G. Kobinger, and X. Yao. Characterization of a Trypsin-Dependent Avian Influenza H5N1-Pseudotyped HIV Vector System for High Throughput Screening of Inhibitory Molecules. Antiviral Research, 2008 Jul;79(1):12-8.
• Laddy DJ, Yan J, Kutzler M, Kobasa D, Kobinger G.P., Khan AS, Greenhouse J, Sardesai NY, Draghia-Akli R, Weiner DB. Heterosubtypic protection against pathogenic human and avian influenza viruses via in vivo electroporation of synthetic consensus DNA antigens. PLoS ONE. 2008 Jun 25;3(6):e2517.
• Maria A. Croyle, Ami Patel, Kaylie Tran, Michael Gray, Yi Zhang, Jim Strong, Heinz Feldmann and G.P. Kobinger. Nasal Delivery of Adenovirus-Based Vaccine Bypasses Pre-existing Immunity to the Vaccine Vector. PLoS ONE. 2008;3(10):e3548.
• James E. Strong, Gary Wong, Shane Jones, Allen Grolla, Steven Theriault, G. Kobinger and Heinz Feldmann. Dormant Ebola Virus is Reactivated by the Ras/MAPK Pathway: A Novel Mechanism of Reservoir to Human Transmission. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Nov 3.
• Andrew, M.L., J.M. Rojek, A.T. Gundersen, U. Stroeher; J.M. Juteau, A.Vaillant, K. Kunz (2008). “Inhibition of Cellular Entry of Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus by Amphipathic DNA Polymers”. Virology 372(1): 107-17.
• Geisbert, T.W., K.M. Daddario-Dicaprio, J.B. Geisbert, D.S. Reed, F. Feldmann, A. Grolla, U. Ströher, E.A. Fritz, L.E. Hensley, S.M. Jones, H. Feldmann (2008). “Vesicular stomatitis virus-based vaccines protect nonhuman primates against aerosol challenge with Ebola and Marburg viruses.” Vaccine. 26(52):6894-900.
• Ao, Z., Patel, A., Tran, K., He, X., Fowke, K., Coombs, K., Kobasa, D., Kobinger, G., and Yao, X. (2008) Characterization of a trypsin-dependent avian influenza H5N1-pseudotyped HIV vector system for high throughput screening of inhibitory molecules. Antiviral Res. 79:12-18.
  Laddy, D.J., Yan, J., Kutzler, M., Kobasa, D., Kobinger, G.P., Khan, A.S., Greenhouse, J., Sardesai, N.Y., Draghia-Akli, R., Weiner, D.B. (2008) Heterosubtypic Protection against Pathogenic Human and Avian Influenza Viruses via In Vivo Electroporation of Synthetic Consensus DNA Antigens. PLoS ONE 3:e2517.
  M. Suresh, and Darwyn Kobasa.  (2008) Pathogenicity of the 1918 Pandemic Influenza Virus. Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Allergy Agents in Medicinal Chemistry 7:81.
• Strong JE, Theriault S, Wong G, Feldmann H. Ebola persistence and reactivation: A Potential Mechanism to Break Virus Dormancy in the Natural Reservoir. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Nov 18;105(46):17982-7. Epub 2008 Nov 3.
• Croyle MA, Patel A, Tran KN, Gray M, Zhang Y, Strong JE, Feldmann H, Kobinger GP. Nasal delivery of an adenovirus-based vaccine bypasses pre-existing immunity to the vaccine carrier and improves the immune response in mice. PLoS ONE. 2008;3(10): e3548. Epub 2008 Oct 29.

2007

• Laddy DJ, Yan J, Corbitt N, Kobasa D, Kobinger GP and DB Weiner. Immunogenicity of novel consensus-based DNA vaccines against avian influenza. Vaccine, 2007 Jan 30; [Epub ahead of print]
• G. P. Kobinger, J. M. Figueredo, T. Rowe, Y. Zhi, G. Gao, J. C. Sanmiguel, P. Bell, N. A. Wivel, L. A. Zitzow, D. B. Flieder, R. J. Hogan, and J. M. Wilson. Adenovirus-based vaccine prevents pneumonia in ferrets challenged with the SARS coronavirus and stimulates robust immune responses in macaques. Vaccine, 2007 Jul 9;25(28):5220-31.
• A. Patel, Y. Zhang, M. Croyle, K. Tran, M. Gray, J. Strong, H. Feldmann, J. M. Wilson and G. P. Kobinger. Mucosal Delivery of Adenovirus-Based Vaccine Protects Against Ebola Virus Infection in Mice. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2007 Nov 15;196 Suppl 2:S413-20.
• G. P. Kobinger, M. P. Limberis, S. Somanathan, G. Schumer, P. Bell and J. M. Wilson. HIV vector pseudotyped with the Spike envelope of SARS-CoV transduces human airway epithelial cells and dendritic cells. Human Gene Therapy, 2007 March, 2007 May;18(5):413-22.
• Schwartz JA, Buonocore L, Roberts A, Suguitan A Jr, Kobasa D, Kobinger G, Feldmann H, Subbarao K, Rose JK. Vesicular stomatitis virus vectors expressing avian influenza H5 HA induce cross-neutralizing antibodies and long-term protection. Virology, 2007 May 22.
• Roy S, Kobinger GP, Lin J, Figueredo J, Calcedo R, Kobasa D, Wilson JM. Partial protection against H5N1 influenza in mice with a single dose of a chimpanzee adenovirus vector expressing nucleoprotein. Vaccine. 2007 Aug 6; [Epub ahead of print]
• Feldmann, H., S. M. Jones, K. M. Daddario-Dicaprio, J. B. Geisbert, U. Stroher, A. Grolla, M. Bray, E. A. Fritz, L. Fernando, F. Feldmann, L. E. Hensley and T. W. Geisbert (2007). "Effective Post-Exposure Treatment of Ebola Infection." PLoS Pathog 3(1): e2.
• Bockeler, M., U. Stroher, J. Seebach, T. A. Afanasieva, N. Suttorp, F. Feldmann and H. J. Schnittler (2007). "Breakdown of para-endothelial barrier function in Marburg virus infection is associated with early tyrosine phosphorylation of PECAM-1." J Infect Dis. 196 Suppl 2: 337-46.
• Groseth, A., T. Hoenen, J. Alimonti, F. Zielecki, H. Ebihara, U. Stroher, S. Becker and F. Feldmann (2007). "In vitro evaluation of antisense RNA efficacy against filovirus infection using reverse genetics." J Infect Dis. 196 Suppl 2: 382-9.
• Jones, S. M., U. Stroher, L. Fernando, X. Qiu, J. Alimonti, P. Melito, M. Bray, H. D. Klenk and F. Feldmann (2007). "Assessment of a Vesicular Stomatitis Virus based Vaccine using the Mouse Model of Ebola Virus Hemorrhagic Fever." J Infect Dis. 196 Suppl 2: 404-12.
• Stroher, U., L. Willihnganz, F. Jean and F. Feldmann (2007). "Blockage of Filoviral Glycoprotein Processing using a Protein-Based Inhibitor." J Infect Dis. 196 Suppl 2: 271-5.
• Darwyn Kobasa, Steven M. Jones, Kyoko Shinya, John C. Kash, John Copps, Hideki Ebihara, Yasuko Maeda-Hatta, Jin Hyun Kim, Peter Halfmann, Masato Hatta, Friederike Feldmann, Judie B. Alimonti, Lisa Fernando, Yan Li, Michael G. Katze, Heinz Feldmann, and Yoshihiro Kawaoka. (2007) Aberrant innate immune response in lethal infection of macaques with the 1918 influenza virus. Nature 445:319-323.
  Laddy, D.J., Yan, J., Corbitt, N., Kobasa, D., Kobinger, G.P., Weiner, D.B. (2007) Immunogenicity of novel consensus-based DNA vaccines against avian influenza. Vaccine  25:2986-2989.
  Schwartz, J.A., Buonocore, L., Roberts, A., Suguitan, A., Kobasa, D., Kobinger, G., Feldmann, H., Subbarao, K., and Rose, J.K. (2007) Vesicular stomatitis virus vectors expressing avian influenza H5 HA induce cross-neutralizing antibodies and long-term protection. Virology  366:166-173.
  Roy, S., Kobinger, G. P., Lin, J., Figueredo, J., Calcedo, R., Kobasa, D., and Wilson, J. M. (2007) Partial protection against H5N1 influenza in mice with a single dose of a chimpanzee adenovirus vector expressing nucleoprotein. Vaccine 25:6845-6851.
• Groseth A, Feldmann H, Strong JE. The Ecology of Ebola virus. Trends Microbiol. 2007 Aug 13; Epub 2007 Aug 15. Review.
• Patel A, Zhang Y, Croyle M, Tran K, Gray M, Strong JE, Feldmann H, Wilson JM, Kobinger GP. Mucosal Delivery of Adenovirus-Based Vaccine Protects against Ebola Virus Infection in Mice. J Infect Dis. 2007 Nov 15;196 Suppl 2:S413-20.

2005

• Kobinger GP, Feldmann H, Zhi Y, Schumer G, Gao G, Feldmann F; Jones S, Wilson JM (2005). Chimpanzee adenovirus vaccine protects against Zaire Ebola virus. Virology: n press.
• Ebihara H, Groseth A, Neumann G, Kawaoka Y, Feldmann H (2005). The role of reverse genetics sytems in studying viral hemorrhagic fevers. Thromb. Haemost. 94: 240-253.
• Feldmann H, Jones ST, Schnittler HJ, Geisbert T (2005). Therapy and prophylaxis of Ebola virus infections. Curr. Opin. Investig. Drugs. 6: 823-830.
• Grolla A, Lucht A, Dick D, Strong J, Feldmann H (2005).Laboratory diagnosis of Ebola and Marburg hemorrhagic fever. Bull. Soc. Pathol. Exot, 98: 205-209.
• Wahl-Jensen VM, Afanasieva TA, Seebach J, Stroeher U, Feldmann H, Schnittler, HJ (2005). Effects of Ebola virus glycoproteins on endothelail cell activation and barrier function. J. Virol. 79: 10442-10450.
• Neumann G, Ebihara H, Takada A, Noda T, Kobasa D, Jasenosky LD, Watanabe S, Kim JH, Feldmann H, Kawaoka Y (2005). Ebola virus VP40 late domains are not essential for viral replication in cell culture. J. Virol. 79: 10300-10307.
• Jones SM, Feldmann, H, Stroeher U, Geisbert JB, Fernando L, Grolla A, Klenk HD, Sullivan NJ, Volchkov VE, Daddario KM, Hensley LE, Jahrling PB, Geisbert TW (2005). Live attenuated recombinant vaccine protects nonhumanprimates against Ebola and Marburg viruses. Nat. Med. 11: 786-790.
• Geisbert TW, Jones S, Fritz EA, Shurtleff AC, Geisbert JB, Liebscher R, Grolla A, Stroeher U, Fernando L, Daddario KM, Gutieri MC, Mothe BR, Larsen T, Hensley LE, Jahrling PB, Feldmann H (2005). Development of a new vaccine for the prevention of Lassa fever. Plos Med. 2: 537-545.
• Vieth S, Drosten C, Charrel R, Feldmann H, Guenther S (2005). Establishemnt of conventional and fluorescence resonance energy trasfer-based real-time PCR assays for detection of pathogenic New World arenaviruses. J. Clin. Virol. 32: 229-235.
• Wahl-Jensen V, Kurz SK, Hazelton PR, Schnittler HJ, Stroeher U, Burton DR, Feldmann H (2005). Role of Ewbola virus secreted glycoproteins and virus-like particles in activation of human macrophages. J. Virol. 79: 2413-2419.
• Haferkamp S, Fernando L, Schwarz TF, Feldmann H, Flick R (2005). Intracellular localization of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus glycoproteins. Virol. Journal 25: 42.
• Groseth A, Feldmann H, Theriault S, Mehmetoglu G, Flick R (2005). RNA polymerase I-driven minigenome system for Ebola viruses. J. Virol. 79: 4425-4433.

2004

• Theriault S, Groseth A, Neumann G, Kawaoka Y, Feldmann H (2004). Rescue of Ebola virus from cDNA using heterologous support proteins. Virus Res. 106: 43-50.
• Flick K, Katz A, Overby A, Feldmann H, Pettersson RF, Flick R (2004). Functional analysis of the noncoding regions of the Uukuniemi virus (Bunyaviridae) RNA segments. J. Virol. 78: 11726-11738.
• Feldmann H, Wahl-Jensen V, Jones SM, Stroeher U (2004). Ebola virus ecology: a continuing mystery. Trends. Microbiol. 12: 433-437.
• Holbrook MR, Aronson JF, Campbell GA, Jones S, Feldmann H, Barrett AD (2004). An animal model for the tick-borne flavivirus – Omsk hemorrhagic fever. J. Infect. Dis. 191: 100-108.
• Kobasa D, Takada A, Shinya K, Hatta M, Halfmann P, Theriault S, Suzuki H, Nishimura H, Mitamura K, Sugaya N,Usui T, Murata T, Maeda Y, Watanabe S, Suresh M, Suzuki T, Suzuki Y,  Feldmann H, Kawaoka Y (2004). Enhanced pathogenicity of influenza A viruses possessing the haemagglutinin of the 1918 pandemic virus. Nature 431: 703-707.
• Hogan RJ, Gao G, Rowe T, Bell P, Flieder D, Paragas J, Kobinger GP, Wivel NA, Crystal RG, Boyer J, Feldmann H, Voss TG, Wilson JM (2004). Resolution of primary severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated cornovirus infection requires Stat1. J. Virol. 78: 11416-11421.
• Cornu TI, Feldmann H, de la Torre JC (2004). Cells expressing the RING finger Z  protein are resistant to arenavirus infection. J. Viorl. 78: 2079-2983.
• Garbutt M, Liebscher R, Wahl-Jensen V, Jones S, Moeller P, Wagner R, Volchkov V, Klenk HD, Feldmann H, Stroeher U. (2004). Properties of replication-competent vesicular stomatitis virus vectors expressing glycoproteins of filoviruses and arenaviruses. J. Viro. 78: 5458-5465.
• He R, Leeson A, Ballantine M, Andonov A, Baker L, Dobie F, Li Y, Bastien N, Feldmann H, Ströher U, Theriault S, Cutts T, Cao J, Booth TF, Plummer FA, Tyler S, Li X (2004). Characterization of protein-protein interaction between the nucleocapsid protein and membrane protein of the SARS coronavirus. Virus Res.  105: 121-125.
• Takada A, Fujioka K, Tsuiji M, Morikawa A, Higashi N, Ebihara H, Kobassa D, Feldmann H, Irimura T, Kawaoka Y. (2004). Human macrophage C-type lectin specific for galactose and N-acetylgalactosamine promotes filovirus entry. J. Virol. 78: 2943-2947.
• Kinsella E, Martin SG, Grolla A, Czub M, Feldmann H, Flick R (2004). Sequence determination of the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus L segment. Virology 321: 23-28.
• Stroeher U, DiCaro A, Li Y, Strong JE, Aoki F, Plummer F, Jones SM, Feldmann H (2004). Sever acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus is inhibited by interferon-alpha. J. Infect. Dis. 189: 1164-1167.
• Watanabe S, Watanabe T, Noda T, Takada A, Feldmann H, Jasenosky LD, Kawaoka Y (2004). Production of novel Ebola virus-like particles from cDNAs: an alternative to Ebola virus generation by reverse genetics. J. Virol. 78: 999-1005.