Alison K Criss 25th International Pathogenic Neisseria Conference 2026

Alison K Criss

Alison Criss, PhD, is Vice Chair and Harrison Distinguished Teaching Professor of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology in the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Medicine. Her laboratory investigates how Neisseria gonorrhoeae initiates neutrophilic inflammation and resists clearance by human innate immunity. This research has identified ways that N. gonorrhoeae accesses essential metals and nutrients during infection, defends itself against soluble innate immune factors including antimicrobial peptides and complement, and thwarts neutrophil antigonococcal functions including phagocytosis, oxidant generation, and granule content release. Her lab also conducts functional antibody assays to evaluate gonorrhea vaccine candidates. Dr. Criss is the Chair of the Mechanism Discovery Unit of the American Society for Microbiology, an editor at PLOS Pathogens and Infection and Immunity, and treasurer of the Neisseria gonorrhoeae Research Society. She is co-director of the NIH-supported Infectious Diseases Training Program for basic science and clinical fellows and teaches in microbiology and immunology courses for graduate and medical students.