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Ashley St John

Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology
Pathology
Box 3010 Med Ctr, Durham, NC 27710
156 Jones Bldg, Durham, NC 27710

Overview


Ashley St. John is an Associate Professor at Duke-NUS Medical School and PI of the Laboratory of Immunity and Immune Pathology in the Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases. She also holds appointments in the Department of Microbiology, National University of Singapore, Pathology Department, Duke University and SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute.

Dr St. John received her BS in Applied Biology from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2004 and PhD in Immunology from Duke University in 2010 before completing her post-doctoral training at Duke-NUS in 2014. She is an expert in viral immunology, with a focus on immunity to vector-borne pathogens such as dengue and Zika viruses. She also has an interest in immune responses to respiratory viral pathogens such as respiratory syncytial virus and SARS-CoV-2. Her lab works on developing novel vaccination strategies, diagnostics, and therapeutics for infectious and allergic diseases.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology · 2020 - Present Pathology, Clinical Science Departments

Recent Publications


Characterization of group I introns in generating circular RNAs as vaccines.

Journal Article Nucleic Acids Res · February 8, 2025 Circular RNAs are an increasingly important class of RNA molecules that can be engineered as RNA vaccines and therapeutics. Here, we screened eight different group I introns for their ability to circularize and delineated different features that are import ... Full text Link to item Cite

Differential contributions of fetal mononuclear phagocytes to Zika virus neuroinvasion versus neuroprotection during congenital infection.

Journal Article Cell · December 26, 2024 Fetal immune cell functions during congenital infections are poorly understood. Zika virus (ZIKV) can vertically transmit from mother to fetus, causing nervous system infection and congenital ZIKV syndrome (CZS). We identified differential functional roles ... Full text Link to item Cite

Mechanisms and risk factors for perinatal allergic disease.

Journal Article Curr Opin Immunol · December 2024 Allergies are among the top causes of chronic disease in children. Their pathogenesis classically involves T helper 2 (Th2)-type inflammation driven by IgE-mediated allergen sensing. Triggers influencing allergic disease occur early in life, including befo ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Recent Grants


Mast Cells in Dengue Pathology and Prevention

ResearchPostdoc Scholar · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2013 - 2017

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Education, Training & Certifications


Duke University · 2010 Ph.D.