Dr. Richard Stokes

CUPIC

Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia
Associate Member, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of British Columbia
Member, Centre for Tubeculosis Research

Dr. Richard Stokes joined the Department of Pediatrics, UBC in 1990 and has since become an associate member in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology and the Department of Pathology. He is also a member of the Centre for Tuberculosis Research which brings together a group of UBC researchers with a common interest in various aspects of the biology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of TB.

Dr. Stokes is interested in the pathogenesis of the TB bacillus, with a special interest in how the bacterium interacts with its host. Interestingly, this devastating pathogen can live inside macrophages that are cells of the host's immune system that are meant to destroy infectious agents. Clearly, this bacterium has evolved mechanisms to enable its survival in this hostile environment. Dr. Stokes in employing methods from microbiology, cell biology, immunology, molecular biology and biochemistry to understand how the TB bacillus is able to live inside macrophages. Understanding these mechanisms will facilitate the development of new therapeutics to combat this important disease that continues to kill millions of people every year.

Laboratory Members

• Lisa Thorson (Lab Manager & Technician)
• Amanda Rooyakkers (Technician)
• Jennifer Lynett (Graduate Student)
• Alice Li (Graduate Student)
• April Randhawa (Graduate Student)
• Tyler Hickey (Graduate Student)

Selected Publications

Li AH, Lam WL, Stokes RW.: Bacterial artificial chromosome fingerprint arrays for the differentiation of transcriptomic differences in mycobacteria. J Microbiol Methods. 2008 Dec;75(3):416-24.

Randhawa AK, Ziltener HJ, Stokes RW.: CD43 controls the intracellular growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis through the induction of TNF-alpha-mediated apoptosis. Cell Microbiol. 2008 Oct;10(10):2105-17.

Li AH, Lam WL, Stokes RW.: Characterization of genes differentially expressed within macrophages by virulent and attenuated Mycobacterium tuberculosis identifies candidate genes involved in intracellular growth. Microbiology. 2008 Aug;154(Pt 8):2291-303.

Stokes, R.W., Norris-Jones, R., Brooks, D.E., Beveridge, T.J. , Doxsee, D. and Thorson, L.M.,“The glycan rich outer layer of the cell wall envelope of Mycobacterium tuberculosis acts as an anti-phagocytic capsule limiting the association of the bacterium with macrophages.” Infection and Immunity, 72 : 5676-5686 (2004).

Wang, J., Thorson, L., Stokes, R.W., Santosuosso, M., Huygen, K., Zganiacz, A., Hitt, M., and Xing, Z. “Single Mucosal, but not Parenteral, Immunization with Recombinant Adenoviral-Based Vaccine Provides Potent Protection from Pulmonary Tuberculosis ” Journal of Immunology, 173 : 6357-6365 (2004).

Randhawa, A.K., Ziltener, H.J. and Stokes, R.W. “Characterization of the interaction of macrophage CD43 with Mycobacterium tuberculosis " Canadian Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 10: 99-100 (2003).

Malloff, C.A, Dullaghan, E.M., Li, A,H., Stokes, R.W., Fernandez, R.C., and Lam, W.L. “ Two-dimensional DNA displays for comparisons of bacterial genomes. Biological Procedures Online 5 , 143-152. (2003)

Dullaghan, EM, Malloff , CA , Li, AH, Lam, WL and Stokes, RW "Two-Dimensional Bacterial Genome Display: A Method For The Genomic Analysis Of Mycobacteria" Microbiology 148: 3111-3117 (2002) * highlighted in "Hot of the Press" in Microbiology Today 29, 210 Nov 2002.

Thorson, LM, Doxsee, D, Scott, M, Wheeler, P and Stokes, RW. "The effect of mycobacterial phospholipids on the interaction of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with macrophages" Infection and Immunity 69: 2172-2179 (2001).