James G. Fox, PhD
Research Highlights
The Fox lab studies infectious diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, focused on the pathogenesis of Campylobacter spp. and Helicobacter spp. infection in humans and animals.
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Research:
Dr. Fox has been studying infectious diseases of the gastrointestinal tract for the past 35 years and has focused on the pathogenesis of Campylobacter spp. and Helicobacter spp. infection in humans and animals. His laboratory developed the ferret as a model for both campylobacter and helicobacter associated disease as well as the first rodent model to study helicobacter associated gastric disease, including gastric cancer. Dr. Fox is considered an international authority on the epidemiology and pathogenesis of enterohepatic helicobacters in humans and animals. He is largely responsible for identifying, naming, and describing many of the diseases attributed to various Helicobacter species; most notably their association with hepatitis, liver tumors, inflammatory bowel disease and colon cancer. His laboratory has described the pivotal role that Helicobacter spp. play in the development of cholesterol gallstones in mice fed a lithogenic diet; thus linking this finding to his earlier description of Helicobacter spp. associated chronic cholecystitis and gallstones in Chilean women, a population at high risk of developing gallbladder cancer. He also has had a long-standing interest in zoonotic diseases as well as biosafety issues associated with in vivo models.
Biography:
Prof. Fox obtained his Master of Science degree in Medical Microbiology at Stanford University and a Doctor in Veterinary Medicine at the Colorado State University, Fort Collins. He was the founding Director of the Division of Comparative Medicine, a Diplomate and a past president of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine, past president of the Massachusetts Society of Medical Research, past chairman of AAALAC Council, and past chairman of the NCCR/NIH Comparative Medicine Study Section. He also is an elected fellow of the Infectious Disease Society of America. In 2004 Professor Fox was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.