Kaihong Su, PhD

Biography

Professor

Biomedical Science

Dr. Kaihong Su has over 30 years of experience in translational medicine research and medical education. Prior to joining the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine in 2021, Dr. Su was a Professor at California University of Science and Medicine and a tenured Associate Professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Throughout her career, Dr. Su has obtained expertise in immunology, microbiology, and molecular cell biology. Dr. Su’s research interests focus on immunological mechanisms of post-viral infection sequelae. She has published more than 80 research articles and abstracts, organized and chaired sessions at international and national meetings, and served extensively on grant review panels for NIH. Dr. Su has also served as a mentor for over 20 post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, and medical students.

Faculty headshot of Kaihong Su, PhD

Education and Training

Degrees
BS, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
MS, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Fellowship
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Professional Positions

Instructor, Medicine
University of Alabama at Birmingham
2002-2003
Assistant Professor, Medicine
University of Alabama at Birmingham
2003-2008
Assistant Professor, Immunology
University of Nebraska
2008-2012
Associate Professor, Immunology
University of Nebraska
2012-2019
Professor, Medical Education
California University of Science and Medicine
2019-2021
Professor, Biomedical Science
Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine
2021-Present

Honors and Awards

First Place Guanghua Scholarship for Outstanding Graduate Students
Nankai University, Ministry of Education of China
1991-1992
Sigma Xi Award, Graduate School
University of Alabama at Birmingham
1997
Samuel B. Barker Award for Excellence in Research
University of Alabama at Birmingham
1998
Joseph Reeves Award for Excellence in Research
University of Alabama at Birmingham
2002
Award of Career Development Funds to a Junior Faculty
University of Alabama at Birmingham
2004
Distinguished Scholar
OMICs Clinical and Cellular Immunology Group
2014

Community Engagement

Speaker, COVID-19 Q&A, “COVID-19 Immunity and Vaccines”
California University of Science and Medicine
2021

Scholarly Activities

Selected peer-reviewed research manuscripts
  • Liu Z, Yu Y, Yue Y, Hearth-Holmes M, Lopez PS, Tineo C, Paulino G, Fu W-N, Loyo E, and Su K, Genetic Alleles Associated with SLE Susceptibility and Clinical Manifestations in Hispanic Patients from the Dominican Republic. Curr Mol Med. 2019;19(3):164-171.
  • Liao H, Li S, Yu Y, Yue Y, Su K, Zheng Q, Jiang N, Zhang Z. Characteristics of Plasmablast Repertoire in Chronically HIV-Infected Individuals for Immunoglobulin H and L Chain Profiled by Single-Cell Analysis. Front Immunol. 2019;10:3163.
  • Costanzo-Garvey DL, Keeley T, Case AJ, Watson GF, Alsamraae M, Yu Y, Su K, Heim CE, Kielian T, Morrissey C, Frieling JS, Cook LM. Neutrophils are mediators of metastatic prostate cancer progression in bone. Cancer Immunol Immunother. 2020 Jun;69(6):1113-1130. 
  • Xu S, Yang H, Zhuo Y, Yu Y, Liao H, Li S, Yue Y, Su K, Zhang Z. Production of Autoreactive Heavy Chain-Only Antibodies in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Front Immunol. 2020 May 5;11:632. 
  • Yu Y, Cooper CL, Wang G, Morwitzer MJ, Kota K, Tran JP, Bradfute SB, Liu Y, Shao J, Zhang AK, Luo LG, Reid SP, Hinrichs SH, and Su K. Engineered Human Cathelicidin Antimicrobial Peptides Inhibit Ebola Virus Infection. iScience. 2020 Mar 22;23(4):100999. 
  • Kofman A, Linderman S, Su K, et al. and Choi MJ. Characteristics of Ebola Virus Disease Survivor Blood and Semen in Liberia: Serology and RT-PCR. Clin Infect Dis 2021 Dec 6;73(11):e3641-e3646
  • Kofman A, Kollie JZ, Su K, et al. and Choi MJ. Risk Factors for Ebola Virus Persistence in Semen of Survivors - Liberia. Clin Infect Dis. 2023 Feb 8;76(3):e849-e856. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciac424.