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William A. Petri

William A. Petri

Primary Appointment

  • Professor and Division Chief, Medicine- Infectious Diseases and International Health

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Research Interest(s)

Molecular Mechanisms of Pathogenesis of Parasitic Infection

Research Description



William A. Petri, Jr., M.D., Ph.D. studies enteric infections and their consequences in children of the developing world. The scope of research includes molecular parasitology, host defense and Clostridium difficile in the lab at UVa, and in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan studies of infant vaccines and undernutrition.
Focusing on amebic colitis, his lab identified the Gal/GalNAc-binding lectin of the parasite Entamoeba histolytica that mediates contact-dependent killing of host cells. Cell biologic studies of adherence, apoptosis and endocytosis of human cells by the parasite are active areas of investigation. DNA transformation of the parasite was pioneered in the lab, and is used to study molecular pathogenesis. Clinically, the group has developed FDA-approved antigen-detection tests that allow sensitive and specific diagnosis of amebiasis. Using these tests in a now 10 year study of 300 children in Bangladesh, acquired immunity to amebiasis was discovered and demonstrated to be associated with interferon gamma and mucosal IgA anti-lectin immune responses. A genetic polymorphism in the leptin receptor, which is a regulator of T cell development, influenced the development of immunity. We are pursuing these observations in a murine model of disease. We are also developing an amebiasis vaccine, and have just started an 8 country study of the role of enteric infections, microbiome and human genome on child malnutrition and oral vaccine failure. Ten graduate students have received the PhD degree in the Microbiology Department working in the lab, and 16 postdoctoral fellows have also trained there.
Currently there are five graduate students and seven postdoctoral fellows conducting research in the lab.

Selected Publications

  • Ali I, Haque R, Siddique A, Kabir M, Sherman N, Gray S, Cangelosi G, Petri W. Proteomic analysis of the cyst stage of Entamoeba histolytica. PLoS neglected tropical diseases. 2012;6(5): e1643. PMID: 22590659 | PMCID: PMC3348168
  • Abhyankar M, Shrimal S, Gilchrist C, Bhattacharya A, Petri W. The Entamoeba histolytica serum-inducible transmembrane kinase EhTMKB1-9 is involved in intestinal amebiasis. International journal for parasitology, drugs and drug resistance. 2012;2 243-248. PMID: 23267432 | PMCID: PMC3528347
  • Korpe P, Liu Y, Siddique A, Kabir M, Ralston K, Ma J, Haque R, Petri W. Breast Milk Parasite-Specific Antibodies and Protection From Amebiasis and Cryptosporidiosis in Bangladeshi Infants: A Prospective Cohort Study. Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. 2012. PMID: 23243179
  • den Hartog J, Rosenbaum L, Wood Z, Burt D, Petri W. Diagnosis of multiple enteric protozoan infections by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in the guatemalan highlands. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene. 2012;88(1): 167-71. PMID: 23185076
  • Verkerke H, Petri W, Marie C. The dynamic interdependence of amebiasis, innate immunity, and undernutrition. Seminars in immunopathology. 2012;34(6): 771-85. PMID: 23114864 | PMCID: PMC3510265
  • Royer T, Gilchrist C, Kabir M, Arju T, Ralston K, Haque R, Clark C, Petri W. Entamoeba bangladeshi nov. sp., Bangladesh. Emerging infectious diseases. 2012;18(9): 1543-5. PMID: 22932710 | PMCID: PMC3437720
  • Gilchrist C, Ali I, Kabir M, Alam F, Scherbakova S, Ferlanti E, Weedall G, Hall N, Haque R, Petri W, Caler E. A Multilocus Sequence Typing System (MLST) reveals a high level of diversity and a genetic component to Entamoeba histolytica virulence. BMC microbiology. 2012;12 151. PMID: 22839995 | PMCID: PMC3438053
  • Shimokawa C, Kabir M, Taniuchi M, Mondal D, Kobayashi S, Ali I, Sobuz S, Senba M, Houpt E, Haque R, Petri W, Hamano S. Entamoeba moshkovskii is associated with diarrhea in infants and causes diarrhea and colitis in mice. The Journal of infectious diseases. 2012;206(5): 744-51. PMID: 22723640 | PMCID: PMC3491739
  • Mackey-Lawrence N, Petri W. Leptin and mucosal immunity. Mucosal immunology. 2012;5(5): 472-9. PMID: 22692456 | PMCID: PMC3425733
  • Korpe P, Stott B, Nazib F, Kabir M, Haque R, Herbein J, Petri W. Evaluation of a rapid point-of-care fecal antigen detection test for Entamoeba histolytica. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene. 2012;86(6): 980-1. PMID: 22665604 | PMCID: PMC3366543
  • Korpe P, Petri W. Environmental enteropathy: critical implications of a poorly understood condition. Trends in molecular medicine. 2012;18(6): 328-36. PMID: 22633998 | PMCID: PMC3372657
  • Christy N, Buss S, Petri W. Common pathways for receptor-mediated ingestion of Escherichia coli and LDL cholesterol by Entamoeba histolytica regulated in part by transmembrane kinase 39. International journal for parasitology. 2012;42(4): 393-400. PMID: 22619755 | PMCID: PMC3449034
  • Ali I, Haque R, Alam F, Kabir M, Siddique A, Petri W. Evidence for a link between locus R-R sequence type and outcome of infection with Entamoeba histolytica. Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. 2012;18(7): E235-7. PMID: 22448930 | PMCID: PMC3377832