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Research ProgramPrevention & Control
Research InterestsResearch in Dr. Palmer's laboratory is focused on prevention and therapy of viral infections. We have developed a new vaccine that prevents papilloma virus infections in animals, and are manufacturing this vaccine in tobacco plants, with the ultimate goal of delivering an affordable vaccine to prevent cervical cancer in poor countries where the burden of cervical cancer is very high. We are also developing a plant-produced antiviral as a vaginal microbicide that could prevent HIV infection, and consequently reduce the burden of cancer in developing countries where AIDS predisposes people to cancers that have an infectious etiology, including cervical cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and Kaposi sarcoma. One of the antiviral products manufactured in our laboratory has potent and broad-spectrum activity against viral respiratory pathogens that are so dangerous to the health of people undergoing treatment for cancer. We are investigating ways we can use this antiviral to protect cancer patients against respiratory infections.
EducationEducation/Training
B.Sc., University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, Genetics, 1992
B.Sc.Hons, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, Genetics, 1993
Ph.D., University of Cape Town, South Africa, Microbiology, 1997
Postdoctoral, Boyce Thompson Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, Plant Biotechnology, 1997-1998
Research and Professional Experience
1997-1998
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853
1998-2003
Senior Scientist, Large Scale Biology Corporation, Vacaville, California 95688
2003-2006
Director of Vaccine Research, Large Scale Biology Corporation, Vacaville, California 95688
2006-present
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, University of Louisville, Kentucky
2006-present
Senior Scientist, James Graham Brown Cancer Center, University of Louisville, Kentucky
2006-present
Adjunct Research Professor, Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ Selected
Awards and Professional Honors
1993
South African Breweries Gold Medal for top Biological Sciences Honors Graduate
1993 – 1996
African Explosives and Chemical Industries Graduate Merit Scholarship
1994 – 1996
University of Cape Town Research Associateship
1997 – 1998
South African Foundation for Research Development Postdoctoral Merit Scholar
2006
Appointment to NIH Vaccines Against Microbial Diseases Study Section
PublicationsPalmer KE, Schnippenkoetter WH, Rybicki EP. Geminivirus isolation and DNA extraction. Meth Molecular Biol 81:41-52, 1997.
Palmer KE, Rybicki EP. The use of geminiviruses in biotechnology and plant molecular biology. Plant Science 129:115-30, 1997.
Palmer KE, Rybicki EP. The molecular biology of Mastreviruses. Adv Virus Res 50:183-234, 1998.
Chen W, Lennox SJ, Palmer KE, Thomson JA. Transformation of Digitaria sanguinalis: a model system for testing maize streak virus resistance in Poaceae. Euphytica 104:25-31, 1998.
Mor TS, Gomez-Lim MA, Palmer KE. Edible vaccines – a concept coming of age. Trends Microbiology 6:449-53, 1998.
Berrie LC, Palmer KE, Rybicki EP, Rey MEC. Molecular characterization of a distinct South African cassava-infecting geminivirus. Arch Virology 143:2253-60, 1998
Palmer KE, Thomson JA, Rybicki EP. Generation of maize cell lines containing autonomously replication maize streak virus-based gene vectors. Arch Virology 144:1345-60, 1999.
Palmer KE, Rybicki EP. Investigation of the use of maize streak virus as an infectious gene vector. Arch Virology 146:1089-1104, 2001.
Fitzmaurice WP, Holzberg S, Lindbo JA, Padgett HS, Palmer KE, Wolfe G, Pogue GP. Epigenetic modification of plants with systemic RNA viruses. OMICS 6:137-51, 2002
Mor TS, Moon YS, Palmer KE, Mason HS. Geminivirus vectors for high level expression of foreign proteins in plant cells. Biotechnol Bioengineering 81:430-7, 2003.
Grill LK, Palmer KE, Pogue GP. Use of plant viruses for production of plant-derived vaccines. Crit Rev Plant Sci 24:1-15, 2005.
Smith ML, Fitzmaurice WP, Turpen TH, Palmer KE. Display of peptides on the surface of tobacco mosaic virus particles. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology in press.
Smith ML, Lindbo JA, Dillard-Telm S, Brosio P, Nguyen LV, McCormick AA, Palmer KE. Modified tobacco mosaic virus particles as scaffolds for display of protein antigens for vaccine applications. Virology 348: 475-88, 2006.
Palmer KE, Benko A, Doucette SA, Cameron TI, McCulloch M, Hanley KM, Foster T, McCormick AA, Smith ML, Christensen ND. Protection of rabbits against cutaneous and mucosal papillomavirus infection using recombinant tobacco mosaic virus containing L2 capsid epitopes. Vaccine 24:5516-25, 2006.
Ziolkowska N, O’Keefe BR, Mori T, Zhu C, Vojdani F, Palmer KE, McMahon JB, Wlodawer A. Domain-swapped structure of an antiviral protein griffithsin elucidates a unique mode of carbohydrate binding. Structure 14:1127-35, 2006.
McCormick AA, Corbo T, Wykoff-Clary S, Nguyen LV, Smith ML, Palmer KE, Pogue GP. TMV-peptide fusion vaccines induce T-cell mediated immune responses and tumor protection in two murine models. Vaccine 24:6414-23, 2006.
Smith ML, Corbo T, Bernales J, Lindbo JA, Pogue GP, Palmer KE, McCormick AA. Assembly of trans-encapsidated recombinant viral vectors engineered from Tobacco mosaic virus and Semliki-forest virus and their evaluation as immunogens. Virology 20 Sept 2006 Epub ahead of press.
McCormick AA, Corbo T, Wykoff-Clary S, Corbo T, Palmer KE, Pogue GP. Chemical conjugate TMV – Peptide bivalent vaccines improve cellular immunity and tumor protection. Bioconjugate Chem 17:1330-8, 2006.
Willment JA, Martin DP, Palmer KE, Schnippenkoetter WH, Shepherd DN, Rybicki EP. Identification of long intergenic region sequences involved in Maize streak virus replication. J Gen Virol, In press.
Ziólkowska NE, Shenoy SR, O’Keefe BR, McMahon JB, Palmer KE, Dwek R, Wormald MR, Wlodawer A. Crystallographic, thermodynamic, and molecular modeling studies of the mode of binding of oligosaccharides to the potent antiviral protein griffithsin. Proteins: structure, function and bioinformatics, in press.
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