Edward Mitre

M.D.

Department of Primary Appointment:
School of Medicine
Microbiology and Immunology
Location: Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD
Research Interests:
Immunology, Host Defenses
Basic Biology of Bacterial, Viral, or Parasite Diseases
Office Phone

Education

2001 Infectious Diseases Fellowship, NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, MD
1998 Internal Medicine Residency, New York University, New York, NY
1995 M.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore,
1991 B.A., Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY

Biography

Edward Mitre is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Uniformed
Services University (USU) in Bethesda, Maryland. He obtained his medical degree from the Johns
Hopkins School of Medicine in 1995 and then completed an internal medicine residency at New York
University, where he served as the senior chief resident from 1998-1999. He completed an infectious
diseases fellowship at the National Institutes of Health from 1999-2002, followed by post-doctoral
research work in helminth immunology as well as clinical training in tropical medicine at the Laboratory
of Parasitic Diseases at NIH. He teaches classes in parasitology, mycology, and bacteriology at the USU
School of Medicine, and he co-directs graduate student courses in Molecular Parasitology and Models of
Emerging Infectious Diseases. Dr. Mitre’s laboratory studies the immunology and pathogenesis of host
responses to infectious and inflammatory diseases, with a focus on filarial nematode infections and
allergy and, since 2020, SARS-CoV-2. Dr. Mitre is the primary investigator of the Prospective Assessment
of SARS-CoV-2 Seroconversion study, a prospective study assessing how baseline immune factors affect
clinical and immunological outcomes to SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. In addition to his
research and teaching responsibilities at USU, Dr. Mitre is a faculty member of the Infectious Diseases
Division at Walter Reed National Military Medical center, where he regularly attends on the internal
medicine and infectious diseases services. He is also the section lead for the Geographic Diseases
Section of the NIH/CDC Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in
Adults and Adolescents with HIV, and is serving as an associate editor for the upcoming 10th edition of
the Principles and Practices of Infectious Diseases textbook.

Research contributions made by Dr. Mitre’s laboratory group include:

Allergy and autoimmunity:
* Developed novel methods to measure basophil and mast cell activation in mice
* Demonstrated that helminth-mediated protection against autoimmune disease is due more to
induction of immune regulatory networks than to Th2 downregulation of Th1 responses
* Showed that chronic helminth infections may protect against allergic diseases by increasing the
threshold of IgE-mediated activation in basophils and causing granule depletion in mast cells
* Demonstrated an association between use of antacid medications and antibiotics in infancy with
increased risk of allergy development in early childhood

Helminth infections:
* Identified BMA-LAD-2 and UDP-GT as essential intestinal proteins of Brugia malayi, making them
promising targets for novel therapeutics against filarial infections
* Established a small mammal disease model of lymphatic filariasis in which PET/CT can be used to
evaluate changes in lymphatic function
* Assessed the prevalence and costs of helminth infections in the U.S. military

SARS-CoV-2:
* Demonstrated that lack of post-vaccination symptoms following receipt of the BNT162b2 mRNA
vaccine does not equate to lack of vaccine-induced antibodies one month after vaccination
* Characterized neutralizing antibody kinetics during the first six months after two doses of the
BNT162b2 vaccine
* Showed that booster vaccination with the monovalent BNT162b2 mRNA COVID vaccine
markedly increases neutralizing titers against the BA.1 Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2

Career Highlights: Positions, Projects, Deployements, Awards and Additional Publications

Flynn AF, Taylor RT, Pazgier ME, Bennuru S, Lindrose AR, Sterling SL, Morris CP, Gleeson BI, Maugel TK, Nutman TB, and Mitre E. “Bma-LAD-2, an Intestinal Cell Adhesion Protein, as a Potential Therapeutic Target for Lymphatic Filariasis.” mBio, 2022 Jun 28;13(3):e0374221.

Lusvarghi S, Pollett SD, Neerukonda SN, Wang W, Wang R, Vassell R, Epsi NJ, Fries AC, Agan BK, Lindholm DA, Colombo CJ, Mody R, Ewers EC, Lalani T, Ganesan A, Goguet E, Hollis-Perry M, Coggins SAA, Simons MP, Katzelnick LC, Wang G, Tribble DR, Bentley L, Eakin AE, Broder CC, Erlandson KJ, Laing ED, Burgess TH, Mitre E, Weiss CD. “SARS-CoV-2 Omicron neutralization by therapeutic antibodies, convalescent sera, and post-mRNA vaccine booster.” Science Translational Medicine, 2022 May 18;14(645):eabn8543.

Laing ED, Weiss CD, Samuels EC, Coggins SA, ... Mitre E, “Durability of antibody responses and frequency of clinical and subclinical SARS-CoV-2 infection six months after BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccination in healthcare workers.” Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2022 Apr;28(4):828-832.

Coggins SAA, Laing ED, Olsen CH, Goguet E, ... Mitre E. `“Adverse Effects and Antibody Titers in Response to the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine in a Prospective Study of Healthcare Workers” Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 2021 Nov 20;9(1):ofab575

Lindrose AR, Mitra I, Fraser J, Mitre E, and Hickey PW, “Helminth infections in the United States military: from strongyloidiasis to schistosomiasis.” Journal of Travel Medicine, 2021 Jan 22:taab004.

Kropp L, Jackson-Thompson B, Thomas LM, McDaniel D, and Mitre E. “Chronic infection with a tissue invasive helminth attenuates sublethal anaphylaxis and reduces granularity and number of mast cells” Clinical and Experimental Allergy, 2020, 50(2):213-221.

Flynn AF, Joyce MG, Taylor RT, Bennuru S, Lindrose AR, Sterling SL, Morris CP, Nutman TB, and Mitre E. “Intestinal UDP-glucuronosyltransferase as a potential target for the treatment and prevention of lymphatic filariasis” PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2019, Sep 12,; 13(9):e0007687.

Mitre E, Susi A, Kropp LE, Schwartz DJ, Gorman GH, and Nylund CM. “Acid-suppressive medications and antibiotics during infancy are associated with allergic diseases in early childhood.” JAMA Pediatrics, 2018, June 4;172(6):e180315.

Jackson, B.M., Kim, S.Y, Jaiswal, S., Scott, J., Jones, S., Morris, C.P., Fite, J.J., Laurie, K., Dardzinski, B., and Mitre, E., “Brugia malayi infection in ferrets – a small mammal disease model of lymphatic filariasis” PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2018, 12(3):e0006334.

Hübner MP, Shi Y, Torrero MN, Mueller E, Larson D, Soloviova K, Gondorf F, Hoerauf A, Killoran KE, Stocker JT, Davies SJ, Tarbell KV, and Mitre E. “Helminth protection against autoimmune diabetes in NOD mice is independent of a type 2 immune shift and requires TGFβ.” Journal of Immunology, 2012, 188:559-568.

Representative Bibliography

Outstanding Pre-clerkship Faculty Award (USU SOM classes of 2021 and 2022)

Commendation Letter from Major General Jeffrey B. Clark, U.S. Army, on behalf of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, “For meritorious service while serving as a health care provider to a critically ill and complex patient in the Medical ICU" 2016

Outstanding Lecturer of the Preclinical Years (USU SOM classes of 2009, 2012, 2016-18)

Outstanding Civilian Educator Award, USU SOM class of 2014

Associate Editor PLoS Pathogens 2014-present

Lead, Geographic Diseases Subgroup, CDC/NIH Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in Adults and Adolescents with HIV (2021-present)

Chair, American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Young Investigator Competition 2016-2020 (member and judge, 2008-15)

Chair, Filariasis Section, American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Meeting Committee, 2010-2013 (member 2007-2009)