CORY TEUSCHER

Professor of Medicine

Genetics, Immunobiology

Ph.D., University of New Mexico, 1982, Pathology-Immunology

Postdoctoral training, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, 1982-1984, Pathology

C.Teuscher@uvm.edu 

The major focus of the research effort in my laboratory is the identification and characterization of non-classical immune response genes controlling susceptibility and resistance to immunopathologically mediated diseases.  These include models of multiple sclerosis in mice such as Theiler’s murine encephalomyelitis induced demyelination and experimental allergic encephalomyelitis.  Using forward genetics, we have identified quantitative trait loci (QTL) that govern phenotypic variation in these models and identified factors that influence the magnitude of demyelination and neurodegeneration observed in these models.

I am also interested in the Genetics of Sexual Behavior.  My lab was one of the first to show that male typical sexual behavior is genetically controlled and that it appears to be related to the developmental effects of estrogen.  We know that estrogen regulated responses are genetically controlled and plan to map the QTL controlling the phenotypic variation in male typical sexual behavior in rats.

Lu C, Diehl SA, Noubade R, Ledoux J, Nelson MT, Spach K, Zachary JF, Blankenhorn EP, Teuscher C. 2010. Endothelial histamine H1 receptor signaling reduces blood-brain barrier permeability and susceptibility to autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Proc Natl Acad Sci (USA). 107(44):18967-72.

Spach KM, Case LK, Noubade R, Petersen CB, McElvany B, Zalik N, Hickey WF, Blankenhorn EP, Teuscher C. 2010. Multiple linked quantitative trait loci within the Tmevd2/Eae3 interval control the severity of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in DBA/2J mice. Genes Immun. 11(8):649-59.

Spach KM, Noubade R, McElvany B, Hickey WF, Blankenhorn EP, Teuscher C. 2009. A single nucleotide polymorphism in Tyk2 controls susceptibility to experimental allergic encephalomyelitis. J Immunol. 182(12):7776-83.

Spach KM, Blake M, Bunn JY, McElvany B, Noubade R, Blankenhorn EP, Teuscher C. 2009. Cutting edge: the Y chromosome controls the age-dependent experimental allergic encephalomyelitis sexual dimorphism in SJL/J mice. J Immunol. 182(4):1789-93.

Griffith JS, Jensen SM, Lunceford JK, Kahn MW, Zheng Y, Falase EA, Lyttle CR, Teuscher C. 1997. Evidence for the genetic control of estradiol-regulated responses. Implications for variation in normal and pathological hormone-dependent
phenotypes. Am J Pathol. 150(6):2223-30.

Roper RJ, Griffith JS, Lyttle CR, Doerge RW, McNabb AW, Broadbent RE, Teuscher C. 1999. Interacting quantitative trait loci control phenotypic variation in murine estradiol-regulated responses. Endocrinology. 140(2):556-61.