Balaji Manicassamy, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, has been appointed the Mark Stinski Professor in Virology.
Manicassamy, who joined the faculty at Iowa in 2018, is an accomplished scientist, scholar, teacher, and mentor whose research has provided new insights into how respiratory viruses interact with the body and how the immune system responds to infection.
In 2025, Manicassamy and colleagues described a previously unknown cellular pathway that controls inflammation during respiratory virus infections. The findings, published in the leading journal Cell Host & Microbe, uncovered novel mechanisms by which the immune system prevents excessive inflammation that may cause serious illness. The study also identified a promising new target for developing treatments for severe respiratory viral diseases, including dangerous strains of influenza and human coronaviruses. This work represents a major advance in understanding the body's early immune response to viral infections.
He currently is principal investigator for two National Institutes of Health-funded R01 research grants. This includes a five-year, $3.8 million R01 grant awarded in 2024 to study how animal influenza viruses adapt and spread to humans. Using advanced genetic, virology, and cell analysis technologies, the Manicassamy lab is working to identify animal flu viruses that have the potential to cause future human pandemics. This research will improve influenza surveillance and help public health officials detect and respond to emerging pandemic threats before they spread widely.
Manicassamy also teaches virology courses for undergraduate and graduate students and is a mentor to undergraduate and graduate students as well as postdoctoral fellows. In addition, he has served as chair of the graduate admissions committee in the UI Department of Microbiology and Immunology.
The endowed Mark Stinski Professorship honors a primary faculty member who has significantly contributed to the field of microbiology and immunology. The professorship was named in honor of Stinski, who successfully developed and commercialized the cytomegalovirus promoter, a tool to promote the expression of proteins that are important in the production of vaccines and therapeutic drugs.
As the Stinski Professor in Virology, Manicassamy succeeds his departmental colleague Wendy Maury, PhD, who has served in this role in the past.