Sallie Robey Permar

Adjunct Professor in the Department of Pathology

Dr. Permar's work focuses on the development of vaccines to prevent vertical transmission of neonatal viral pathogens. She has utilized the nonhuman primate model of HIV/AIDS to characterize the virus-specific immune responses and virus evolution in breast milk and develop a maternal vaccine regimen for protection against breast milk transmission of HIV. In addition, Dr. Permar's lab has advanced the understanding of HIV-specific immune responses and virus evolution in vertically-transmitting and nontransmitting HIV-infected women, defining maternal immune responses that may protect against neonatal transmission of HIV. Importantly, Dr. Permar has established a nonhuman primate model of congenital CMV infection adn is using this model to establish the maternal immune responses that are necessary for protection against placental virus transmission. Finally, Dr. Permar is studying the impact and prevention of postnatal CMV transmission in preterm infants.

Appointments and Affiliations

Adjunct Professor in the Department of Pathology
Associate Dean for Physician-Scientist Development
Affiliate, Duke Global Health Institute
Associate of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society

Contact Information

Office Location: 103020, 2 Genome Ct MSRBII, Durham, NC 27710
Office Phone: (919) 684-2515
Email Address: sallie.permar@duke.edu
Websites:
- DHVI - Neonatal Viral Pathogen Immunity Lab
- Permar Lab Website

Education

Children's Hospital Boston, 2009
Children's Hospital Boston, 2007
Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University, 2004
M.D. Harvard Medical School, 2004

Awards, Honors, and Distinctions

American Society of Clinical Investigation Inductee. ASCI. 2016
Young Investigator Award. Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. 2015
Young Investigator Award. Society for Pediatric Research. 2014
Young Investigator Award. Society for Pediatrics Research. 2014
Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers. President of the United States of America. 2012

Courses Taught

IMMUNOL 494: Research Independent Study

In the News

Six From Duke Elected Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (Nov 24, 2020)
Years in the Making: Duke Human Vaccine Institute Researchers Attack COVID-19 (Nov 6, 2020 | School of Medicine)
Finding Will Speed Development of Vaccine for a Leading Cause of Infant Brain Damage (Nov 5, 2020 | Duke Health News)
Sallie Permar: Who Are Your Trusted Sources on COVID-19? (Apr 24, 2020)
Why Do Some People Infected with Coronavirus Fare Worse Than Others? (Apr 21, 2020 | School of Medicine)
Duke Awards 29 University Distinguished Professorships (Apr 14, 2020)
What We've Learned About Coronavirus (Mar 10, 2020)
Creating a Vaccine to Guide the Immune System to Make the Right Kind of Antibodies (Jan 31, 2020)
New Insight on Mother's Antibodies May Improve Maternal Vaccines to Protect Newborns (Jun 13, 2019 | Duke Health News)
Mapping Infant Hearing Loss in Durham County to Identify Risk Factors (Mar 5, 2019 | Duke Global Health Institute)
Antibodies Halt Placental Transmission of CMV-Like Virus in Monkeys (Jul 7, 2017 | Duke Health News)
Zika research, prevention discussed at N.C. conference (Jun 8, 2016 | The News & Observer)
Dr. Sallie Permar: How can viruses like Zika cause birth defects? (Feb 5, 2016 | Smithsonian)
Triangle researchers mobilize against threat of Zika virus (Feb 2, 2016 | WUNC)
Sallie Permar on What is Unusual about the Zika Virus (Jan 28, 2016)
Monkey model discovery could spur CMV vaccine development (Oct 20, 2015)
Antibody Response Linked To Lower Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission (Jun 10, 2015)
Duke HIV researchers receive large federal grants (Apr 6, 2015 | The News & Observer)
Tar Heel of the Week: Scientist Sallie Permar intent on stopping childhood diseases (Apr 21, 2014 | The News & Observer)
Duke Medical Researcher Sallie Permar Receives White House Honor (Jan 5, 2014)
Two Triangle scientists honored by White House (Dec 30, 2013 | News & Observer)

Representative Publications

Mahant, AM; Trejo, FE; Aguilan, JT; Sidoli, S; Permar, SR; Herold, BC, Antibody attributes, Fc receptor expression, gestation and maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection modulate HSV IgG placental transfer., Iscience, vol 26 no. 9 (2023) [10.1016/j.isci.2023.107648] [abs].
Semmes, EC; Miller, IG; Rodgers, N; Phan, CT; Hurst, JH; Walsh, KM; Stanton, RJ; Pollara, J; Permar, SR, ADCC-activating antibodies correlate with decreased risk of congenital human cytomegalovirus transmission., Jci Insight, vol 8 no. 13 (2023) [10.1172/jci.insight.167768] [abs].
Crooks, CM; Chan, C; Permar, SR, Leveraging preclinical study designs to close gaps in vaccine development for perinatal pathogens., J Exp Med, vol 220 no. 7 (2023) [10.1084/jem.20230184] [abs].
Toor, RK; Semmes, EC; Walsh, KM; Permar, SR; Giulino-Roth, L, Does congenital cytomegalovirus infection contribute to the development of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children?, Curr Opin Virol, vol 60 (2023) [10.1016/j.coviro.2023.101325] [abs].
Schleiss, MR; Permar, SR; John, CC, What are the key pediatric public policy priorities as the COVID-19 pandemic persists?, Pediatr Res, vol 93 no. 6 (2023), pp. 1451-1455 [10.1038/s41390-023-02529-x] [abs].