Thomas J. Inzana

Description

Dr. Inzana joined the Long Island University faculty as the Associate Dean for Research in the new and developing College of Veterinary Medicine in 2018. His position was revised to include Associate Dean for Graduate Programs when the new graduate programs in the College of Veterinary Medicine were established in 2022. Prior to joining the Long Island University faculty and administration, Dr. Inzana served as a faculty member in the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine (1987-2018), as an Assistant Professor and Co-Director of Clinical Microbiology at Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine, and as a Postdoctoral Fellow in Clinical Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine (1982-1984). At Virginia Tech Dr. Inzana also served as the University Associate Vice-President for Research Programs (2006-2010), and the University Research Integrity Officer (2007-2018). Dr. Inzana also held the Tyler J. and Frances F. Young endowed Chair in Bacteriology (2003-2018).

Dr. Inzana has served on multiple NIH and USDA grant review panels, was on the first National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards Subcommittee on Veterinary Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing, the American Society for Microbiology Ethics Committee, and the International Congress of Systematic Bacteriology Subcommittee on the Pasteurellaceae. Dr. Inzana has also served as Chair of on the organizing committee for multiple scientific conferences, and on the editorial boards of several prestigious peer-reviewed journals.

Research

• Microbiology; basic molecular research on bacterial pathogenesis and host response to infection; development of improved diagnostic tests and vaccines based on understanding of the role of bacterial virulence factors and the protective host immune response

Over the past fifty years, Dr. Inzana has pursued investigation of how bacterial pathogens cause disease and how the host responds to the infection and the bacterial agents. His research has covered a wide variety of pathogens, but most has focused on bacteria that cause respiratory infections in humans and animals. Most of his research has focused on cell surface polysaccharides that act as a defense mechanism to the pathogen. Dr. Inzana has utilized basic molecular techniques to understand how specific bacterial components contribute to the disease process, what antigens can be utilized effectively for the development of improved diagnostic tests, and what immunological response is required by the host to prevent disease. Dr. Inzana has determined that most chronic bacterial infections are established biofilms, which are more resistant to host immune responses and treatment with antibiotics. He has also shown that the composition of the bacteria in the host and as a biofilm is highly different from that of the bacteria grown in culture medium. Dr. Inzana is currently testing new vaccines that contain novel components only expressed by the bacteria during infection.

Dr. Inzana has served as primary mentor for the theses and dissertations of 18 graduate students in microbiology, and has mentored 22 postdoctoral fellows and visiting professors. His research has resulted in 134 peer-reviewed publications in highly respected journals, 35 book chapters as author or editor, 290 conference presentations, and 49 invited lectures at Universities, companies, or as the conference keynote speaker. His research is and has been funded by both Government agencies and industry, including the US Department of Agriculture, NIH, veterinary pharmaceutical companies, and veterinary commodity groups. He has been funded by the USDA his entire career (over $5 million as principle investigator), and total funding over his career has exceeded $10 million.

Distinctions & Awards

Long Island University

• Zoetis Award for Veterinary Research Excellence, 2021

Virginia Tech

• Beecham Award for Research Excellence, 1989
• Phi Zeta National Veterinary Medicine Honor Society, 1996
• Pfizer Award for Research Excellence, 2003
• Scholar of the Week, Office of the Vice-President for Research, 2004
• Scholar of the Week, Office of the Vice-President for Research, 2013

American Board of Medical Microbiology

• Diplomate; Board-certified in clinical microbiology; 1989

American Academy of Microbiology

• Fellow; 1997

American Society for Microbiology

• Division Z lecturer for 111th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology

American College of Veterinary Microbiology

• Fellow (Honorary), 2018
• Distinguished Veterinary Microbiologist Award, 2022

American Association for the Advancement of Science

• Fellow, 2019

Other

• Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, 2020

Patents

• “Application of noncapsulated mutants of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae for use in live vaccines against swine pleuropneumonia”, (Commercial use by Boehringer-Ingelheim as APP-LAC), Patent Number 5,429,818, (July 4, 1995)
• “Defined, recombinant mutants of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae for use as vaccine candidates against swine pleuropneumonia”, Patent number 6,086,894, (July 11, 2000)
• “Recombinant vaccine for diseases caused by encapsulated organisms”, Patent Number 6,326,001, (December 4, 2001)
• “An improved vaccine formulation for bacterial mucosal pathogens based on antigens expressed in the host”, New Technology Disclosure submitted to LIU (2024)

Selected Publications

• “Characterization of proteins present in the biofilm matrix and outer membrane vesicles of Histophilus somni during iron-sufficient and iron-restricted growth; identification of potential protective antigens through in-silico analyses”, mBio. 16:e00644-25, 2025. (with Y-J. Lee, et al.)
• “Relationship between capsule production and biofilm formation by Mannheimia haemolytica, and establishment of a poly-species biofilm with other Pasteurellaceae”, Biofilm. 8:100223, 2024, (with Y-J. Lee et al.)
• “Contribution of Hfq to gene regulation and virulence in Histophilus somni”. Infection and Immunity, 92: e00038-24, 2024, (with D. Cao, et al.)
• “Identification and initial characterization of Hfq-associated sRNAs in Histophilus somni strain 2336”, PLoS One, E 18(5):e0286158, 2023, (with B. Subhadra et al.)
• “Alginate microencapsulation of an attenuated O-antigen mutant of Francisella tularensis LVS as a model for a vaccine delivery vehicle”, PLoS One, 11;17(3):e0259807, 2022, (with C. Freudenberger)
• “The role of luxS in Histophilus somni virulence and biofilm formation”, Infection and Immunity, 89:e00567-20, 2021, (with Y. Pan, et al.)
• “Polymicrobial biofilm interaction between Histophilus somni and Pasteurella multocida”, Frontiers Microbiology, 11:1561, 2020, (with B. Petruzzi, et al.)
• “Phylogenomic analysis of Haemophilus parasuis and proposed reclassification to Glaesserella parasuis, gen. nov., comb. nov.”, International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, 70:180-186, 2019, (with A. Dickerman, et al.)
• “Biofilm formation by Francisella tularensis is dependent upon cell surface glycosylation, growth medium, and a glucan exopolysaccharide”, Scientific Reports, 9:12252, 2019, (with A. E. Champion, et al.)

Frequently-Cited Papers

• “Electrophoretic heterogeneity and interstrain variation of the lipopolysaccharide of Haemophilus influenzae”, Journal of Infectious Diseases 148 (3), 492-499, (T. J. Inzana)
• “Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae RTX-toxins: uniform designation of haemolysins, cytolysins, pleurotoxin and their genes”, Microbiology 139 (8), 1723-1728 (with J. Frey et al.)
• “Transferable antibiotic resistance elements in Haemophilus influenzae share a common evolutionary origin with a diverse family of syntenic genomic islands”, Journal of Bacteriology 186 (23), 8114-8122, (with Z. Mohd-Zain et al.)
• “Identification, characterization and immunogenicity of an O-antigen capsular polysaccharide of Francisella tularensis”. PloS one 5 (7), e11060, (with M. A. Apiicella et al.)
• “Killing of Brucella abortus by bovine serum”, Infection and immunity 56 (12), 3251-3261, (with L. B. Corbeil et al.)
• “Virulence properties and protective efficacy of the capsular polymer of Haemophilus (Actinobacillus) pleuropneumoniae serotype 5”, Infection and immunity 56 (8), 1880-1889, (T. J. Inzana, et al.)
• “Safety, stability, and efficacy of noncapsulated mutants of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae for use in live vaccines”, Infection and Immunity 61 (5), 1682-1686, (T. J. Inzana et al.)
• “Serotype specificity and immunogenicity of the capsular polymer of Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae serotype 5”, Infection and immunity 55 (7), 1580-1587, (T. J. Inzana, B. Mathison)
• “Loss of ciliary activity in organ cultures of rat trachea treated with lipo-oligosaccharide from Haemophilus influenzae”, Journal of Medical Microbiology 22 (3), 265-268, (A. P. Johnson, T. J. Inzana)
• “Genetic characterization of a Tn5-disrupted glycosyltransferase gene homolog in Brucella abortus and its effect on lipopolysaccharide composition and virulence”, Infection and Immunity 67 (8), 3830-3835, (with J. R. McQuiston et al.)
• “Evaluation of a multiplex PCR test for simultaneous identification and serotyping of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotypes 2, 5, and 6”, Journal of Clinical Microbiology 41 (9), 4095-4100, (with S. G. Jessing et al.)
• “Haemophilus somnus: bovine reproductive and respiratory disease”, The Canadian Veterinary Journal 27 (2), 90, (with L. B. Corbeil et al.)