IDALI MARTINEZ, Ph. D.

Educational Background:

B.S. in Industrial Mcrobiology, University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez Campus, 1990
M.S. in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Rutgers University, 1993
Ph.D. in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Rutgers University, 1995

Academic Position:

Associate Profesor
Microbiology Department Associate Investigator - Caribbean Primate Research CenterAcademic

Address, Telephone & E-Mail:

Dept. of Microbiology and Medical Zoology, Room A-355

Medical Sciences Campus
University of Puerto Rico
P. O. Box 365067
San Juan , P.R. 00936-5067.
Phone: (787)758-2525 ext. 1447 (office) and 1354 (lab)
E-mail: idmartinez@rcm.upr.edu

Field of Interest:

Infection with dengue (DEN) viruses has become a major public health problem in the tropics and an emerging threat for the United States . There are 4 serotypes of this virus that cause diseases ranging widely in severity, from self-limited dengue fever (DF) to potentially fatal dengue hemorrhagic fever-dengue shock syndrome (DHF/DSS). Currently, no licensed vaccine is available to prevent DEN virus infections. Thus, the main goal of our laboratory is to develop an effective tetravalent DEN vaccine. Toward this effort, we have developed expression vectors encoding prM/env and NS1 genes of several DEN serotypes. These vectors have been tested as vaccine candidates in mice and we are currently evaluating a DEN-2 DNA vaccine candidate in non-human primates. We are also initiating pilot studies to identify biomarkers for the early detection of patients at risk of developing dengue hemorrhagic fever and to determine how a West Nile Virus infection will be modulated in a Dengue-immune individual using Balb/C mice as animal model.

Research Support:

R21 AI055814-01, 08-01-2003 to 07-31-2006 , Evaluation Studies of a Dengue-2 DNA Vaccine in Monkeys

MBRS-SCORE S06-GM008224, 09-01-00 to 07-31-04 , Evaluation Studies of a Dengue-2 Envelope DNA Vaccine

Center for Clinical Research, UPR-Medical Sciences Campus, 01/15/04 to 07/31/05 , Identification of biomakers for early stages of the Dengue infection
Internal Caribbean Primate Research Center funding

Selected Publications:

E.O'Neill, I.Martinez, F.Villinger, M.Rivera, S.Gascot, C.Colon, T.Arana, M.Sidhu, R.Stout, D.C.Montefiori, M.Martinez, A.A. Ansari, Z.R.Israel, E. Kraiselburd (2002). Protection by SIV VLP DNA prime/protein boost following mucosal SIV challenge is markedly enhanced by IL-12/GM-CSF co-administration. J Med Primatol, 31: 217-227.

I.Martínez , L.Giavedoni, and E.Kraiselburd (2001). Clone B7 Cells have a Single Copy of SIVsmB7 Integrated in Chromosome 20. Archives of Virology 146:1-7.

E.Kraiselburd, A.Salamán, M.Beltrán, M.Rivera, J.Oliver, M.Kessler, M.Knezevich, A.Rodriguez, M.Bilska, D.Montefiori and I.Martínez (1997). Vaccine evaluation studies of replication-defective SIVsmB7. Cell. and Mol. Biology, 43(7):915-924.
M.Carrer, G.J.Vázquez, R.I.Lebrón, X