Vitaly V. Ganusov, Ph.D.

Vitaly V. Ganusov, Ph.D.

Vitaly V. Ganusov, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator
Professor, Theoretical Immunology Laboratory

Education and Training

  • B.S. Physics – Krasnoyarsk State University (1997)
  • M.S. Physics - Krasnoyarsk State University (2000)
  • Ph.D. Physical and Mathematical sciences - Institute of Biophysics (2001)
  • Ph.D. Biology - Emory University (2003)
  • Post-doctoral fellow – Emory University (2004-2005)
  • Post-doctoral fellow. Theoretical Biology - Utrecht University (2005-2008)
  • Post-doctoral fellow - Los Alamos National Laboratory (2008-2010)
  • Assistant Professor - University of Tennessee (2010 – 2016)
  • Associate Professor - University of Tennessee (2016 – 2023)
  • Professor - University of Tennessee (2023): on the leave of absence

Research Bio

The core of my research is to gain deeper understanding of biological processes by using mathematical modeling. In my lab we combine the use of quantitative data (coming from different types of experiments in immunology and infectious diseases) and mathematical models. The emphasis of my work is on understanding which models are and which are not able to describe the data. I am investigating how vaccine-induced T cells locate and eliminate malaria parasites in the liver; how lymphocytes recirculate in the body; what are the basic details of tuberculosis pathogenesis; and what are dissemination patterns of bacteria and parasites. I use mathematical/computational models to test alternative models/hypotheses for that purpose, and use data as the judge deciding which model is a good descriptor of the data and which is not (and why it is not). Other areas of my research include understanding early HIV dynamics in humans and how to prevent evolution of bad (high false discovery rate) science.