Dr. Cooper has been chairman of the Department of Medical Microbiology, Immunology, and Cell Biology since 1998 and has been a faculty member since 1972. He is a founding faculty member of the School of Medicine and presently holds the rank of Professor. He is a Fellow of the Infectious Disease Society of America and a member of the American Society for Microbiology, American Association of Immunologists, Society for Mucosal Immunology, charter member of the College of Reproductive Biology as well as numerous other societies. In addition, Dr. Cooper is Board Certified in Embryology and Andrology and is a High Complexity Laboratory Director. In 2004 he was the chairman for the annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Immunology.

Training:
1981-1982 Sabbatical year-Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN
Mentor: Zell A. McGee, M.D.

1971-1973 Research Fellow in Microbiology, Department of Microbiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston
Mentor: William Vinson, Ph.D.

1969-1971 Ph.D., Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA
Mentor: John W. Foster, Ph.D.

1965-1967 M.Sc., Department of Biology, Tennessee Technological Unverisity, Cooksville, TN
Mentor: Gordon Pennibaker, Ph.D.

1961-1965 B.A., Biology, King College, Bristol, TN

Research Interests
Sexually transmitted bacterial pathogens have been a major problem of the reproductivetract for centuries. These bacteria produce local infectious which are usuallyuncomplicated but can be disseminated and lead to complications for the host.These can produce scarring of the reproductive tract, pelvic inflammatory disease andinfertility. In the U.S. the incidence of these diseases is several million per year.
In order to better understand the mechanisms of pathogenesis of sexually transmitted infections, our laboratory has developed an explant model of the human fallopian tube. This model has been used to study the basic pathogenesis and local immune response to infections by Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis. We are presently using this explant model to study the co-infection of these to microbes in the enhancement of HIV infection. We are interested in the up regulation or down regulation of the inflammatory cytokines (TNFα, IL-1, IL-6, and IL-12), SLIPI, TREM and their influence of these coinfectiouns. This project is part of a five year grant funded by the NIH entitled Bacterial Sexually Transmitted Infection and Innate Immunity in HIV Infection.

Selected Publications
Beswick, E., A. Travelstead., A., and M.D. Cooper. 2003. Comparative Studies of Glyosomine Involvement in Chlamydia pneumoniae and C. trachomatis invasion of host cells. J. Infect. Dis. 187(8):1291-1300. Pub Med

John, C.M., G.A. Jarvis, K.V. Swanson, H. Leffler, M.D. Cooper, M.E. Huflejt and J.M. Griffiss. 2002. Galectin-3 binds lactosaminylated lipoligosaccharides from Neisseria gonorrhoeae and is selectively expressed by mucosal epithelial cells that are infected. Cellular Microbiolgy 4(10):649-661. Pub Med

Anderson, R., K. Feathergill, X. Diao, D. Waller, C. Chany, K. Feathergill, G. Doncel, M.Cooper, P. Hermonat, and B. Herold. 2002. Preclinical evaluation of sodium cellulose sulfate (Ushercell) as a contraceptive antimicrobial agent. J. Andrology 23:1107-1115. Pub Med

Zaneveld, L., M.Cooper, G. Doncel, B. Herold, and W.F. Rencher. 2002. Efficacy and safety of a new vaginal contraceptive antimicrobial formulation containing high molecular weight poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate). Biol. Reproduction 66:886-894. Pub Med

Swanson, K., G. Jarvis, G. Brooks, B. Barham, M. Cooper, and J. Griffiss. 2001. CEACAM is not necessary, for Neisseria gonorrhoeae to adhere to and invade female genital epithelial cells. Cellular Microbiology 3(10):681-691 Pub Med