Addresses
- 2 Genome Court, Msrbii, Room 3077, Durham, NC 27710
- Box 103020, Durham, NC 27710
Overview
Maria Blasi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, and a member of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute (DHVI) at Duke University School of Medicine. Dr. Blasi completed her undergraduate and Ph.D. studies in Italy at the Sapienza University in Rome. She moved to Duke in 2012 for a postdoctoral position in Mary Klotman’s laboratory at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute (DHVI). She joined the faculty at Duke in 2017.
The Blasi laboratory has two main areas of research: 1) understanding the mechanisms and implications of viral infections in the kidney, including HIV and SARS-CoV-2 and 2) development of vaccines and therapeutics against a variety of infectious diseases.
Dr. Blasi is also the co-director of the DHVI training mentoring program (DTMP). The DTMP is committed to providing an outstanding training environment and research experiences that will enhance trainees career and provide avenues to incorporate education, expertise, initiative and dedication to the success of the studies. The DTMP strives to support personal and professional growth of trainees in an environment of established trust, respect, realistic expectations, and effective communications.
Education
- Ph.D. 2012 - La Sapienza University of Rome (Italy)
Grants
- Stimulating Access to Research in Residency (StARR) - NIAID awarded by National Institutes of Health 2018 - 2029
- Identification of Host-Specific Determinants of APOL1-associated COVAN awarded by National Institutes of Health 2024 - 2029
- U2C/TL1 NC KUH TRIO Administrative Core awarded by University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill 2023 - 2028
- TRIO NRSA Training Core-Pre Doc Trainee awarded by University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill 2023 - 2028
- The role of Vpr-mediated cell cycle dysregulation in HIV-associated kidney disease awarded by Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai 2022 - 2027
- Mechanisms of HIV persistence in the kidney (R01) awarded by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases 2022 - 2027
- Role and Mitigation of Inflammasomes and Inflammation During COVID-19 awarded by University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill 2022 - 2027
- NIAID Virology Quality Assurance - Year 6 Option 5 awarded by National Institutes of Health 2019 - 2026
- Interdisciplinary Research Training Program in AIDS awarded by National Institutes of Health 2010 - 2025
- Understanding the interplay between local viral infection and local inflammation in COVID-19 kidney injury (R01) awarded by National Institutes of Health 2021 - 2025
Publications
- Langel, Stephanie N., Claire E. Otero, Justin T. Steppe, Caitlin A. Williams, Tatiana Travieso, Jerry Chang, Helen Webster, et al. “Breast milk delivery of an engineered dimeric IgA protects neonates against rotavirus.” Mucosal Immunol, January 20, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mucimm.2025.01.002.
- Travieso, Tatianna, Hannah Stadtler, Naseem Alavian, Feng Gao, Mary Klotman, Cameron Robert Wolfe, and Maria Blasi. “Longitudinal analysis of viral dynamics in HIV+-to-HIV+ HOPE Act kidney-transplant recipients.” J Clin Invest 134, no. 20 (September 10, 2024). https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI181560.
- Liang, Kaixin, Katherine C. Barnett, Martin Hsu, Wei-Chun Chou, Sachendra S. Bais, Kristina Riebe, Yuying Xie, et al. “Initiator cell death event induced by SARS-CoV-2 in the human airway epithelium.” Sci Immunol 9, no. 97 (July 12, 2024): eadn0178. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciimmunol.adn0178.
- DeLuca, Jenna M., Maria Blasi, Shalini Jha, Xiaoying Shen, Justin Pollara, Melissa Kerkau, Mansi Purwar, et al. “B cell immunofocusing and repriming in two HIV-1 Env immunization regimens.,” April 8, 2024. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3895128/v1.
- Mahesh, Sneha, Jenny Li, Tatianna Travieso, Danai Psaradelli, Donatella Negri, Mary Klotman, Andrea Cara, and Maria Blasi. “Integrase Defective Lentiviral Vector Promoter Impacts Transgene Expression in Target Cells and Magnitude of Vector-Induced Immune Responses.” Viruses 15, no. 11 (November 14, 2023). https://doi.org/10.3390/v15112255.
- Blasi, Maria, and Mary Klotman. “HIV-1 infection of renal epithelial cells: 30 years of evidence from transgenic animal models, human studies and in vitro experiments.” Retrovirology 20, no. 1 (March 16, 2023): 2. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12977-023-00617-8.
- Langel, Stephanie N., Carolina Garrido, Caroline Phan, Tatianna Travieso, Helene Kirshner, Todd DeMarco, Zhong-Min Ma, et al. “Dam-Infant Rhesus Macaque Pairs to Dissect Age-Dependent Responses to SARS-CoV-2 Infection.” Immunohorizons 6, no. 12 (December 1, 2022): 851–63. https://doi.org/10.4049/immunohorizons.2200075.
- Baker, Erich J., Kelly Hughes, Tatianna Travieso, Mary E. Klotman, and Maria Blasi. “Establishment, Persistence, and Reactivation of Latent HIV-1 Infection in Renal Epithelial Cells.” J Virol 96, no. 14 (July 27, 2022): e0062422. https://doi.org/10.1128/jvi.00624-22.
- Travieso, Tatianna, Jenny Li, Sneha Mahesh, Juliana Da Fonzeca Redenze E. Mello, and Maria Blasi. “The use of viral vectors in vaccine development.” NPJ Vaccines 7, no. 1 (July 4, 2022): 75. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-022-00503-y.
- Langel, Stephanie N., Maria Blasi, and Sallie R. Permar. “Maternal immune protection against infectious diseases.” Cell Host & Microbe 30, no. 5 (May 2022): 660–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2022.04.007.
Past Appointments
- Assistant Professor in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
- Assistant Professor in Medicine
- Assistant Professor in Medicine
- Medical Instructor in the Department of Medicine
Newsfeeds
- Why Do Some People Infected with Coronavirus Fare Worse Than Others?