Dr. Narisara Chantratita Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

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narisara.cha@mahidol.ac.th
+66 (0) 2354 9100, Ext 1592

Background

Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology Dr Narisara Chantratita is involved in both teaching and research. She teaches students from the Diploma, MSc and PhD courses at the Bangkok School of Tropical Medicine and is the Principal Investigator on two current melioidosis projects.

In her research she works with international colleagues from the University of Washington, USA and the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit as well as having strong connection to the Thai research community.

Her primary research area is melioidosis, an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei. She is especially interested in the development of improved methods of diagnosis and treatment for this neglected tropical disease.

Affiliations

Department of Microbiology and Immunology

Research

Dr. Narisara Chantratita’s current NIH/NIAID funded project “Determinants of outcome and recurrent infections in melioidosis” is based in northeast Thailand, where the mortality rate for melioidosis patients is 40%. The project, which is a collaboration with the University of Washington, aims to understand the mechanisms underlying patients’ poor responses to therapy in order to help identify new strategies for treatment and improve public health. She is also Principal Investigator on the Faculty funded project, “Variation of Burkholderia pseudomallei lipopolysaccharide and impact on innate immune response”.

She has studied the interactions between the pathogen and human host in melioidosis for over twenty years, combining laboratory investigation with clinical studies. Much of her work has focused on northeast Thailand, including her 2009-2014 Wellcome Trust Intermediate Fellowship Project “Association between genetic polymorphisms, innate immune responses and outcomes from sepsis in Thai patients with melioidosis and S. aureus infection”.

In 2015 she was recognized with an “Outstanding Research” award from the National Research Council of Thailand and she regularly speaks at international conferences and symposiums regarding her melioidosis work.

Qualifications

2006 Tropical Medicine PhD Mahidol University, Thailand
1991 Microbiology and Immunology MSc Mahidol University, Thailand
1987 Medical Technology BSc Chulalongkorn University, Thailand

Research Areas

  • Melioidosis
  • Immunology
  • Bacteriology

Publications

The full list of Dr. Narisara Chantratita’s publications can be seen here.

Selected Publications

Development of rapid ELISAs for detection of antibodies to Burkholderia pseudomallei.
Suttisunhakul V, Wuthiekanun V, Brett PJ, Day NPJ, Burtnick MN, Limmathurotsakul D, Chantratita N.
J Clin Microbiol 2016; 54(5):1259-68.
DOI: 10.1128/JCM.02856-15

Comparison of community-onset Staphylococcus aureus sepsis in Thailand: a prospective multicenter observational study.
Chantratita N, Wikraiphat C, Tandhavanant S, Wongsuvan G, Ariyaprasert P, Suntornsut P, Thaipadungpanit J, Teerawattanasook N, Jutrakul Y, Srisurat N, Chaimanee P, Anukunananchai J, Phiphitaporn S, Srisamang P, Chetchotisakd P, West TE, Peacock SJ.
Clinical Microbiology and Infection 2016; Jan 22.
DOI:10.1026/j.cmi.2016.01.008. PMID: 26806258.

Colony morphology variation of Burkholderia pseudomallei is associated with antigenic variation and O-polysaccharide modification.
Wikraiphat C, Saiprom N, Tandhavanant S, Heiss C, Azadic P, Wongsuvan G, Tuanyok A, Holden MT, Burtnick MN, Brett PJ, Peacock SJ, Chantratita N.
Infect Immun 2015; 83 (5):2127-38. PMC4399047.
DOI: 10.1128/IAI.02785-14. Epub 2015 Mar 16.

Competition between Burkholderia pseudomallei and B. thailandensis.
Ngamdee W, Tandhavanant S, Wikraiphat C, Reamtong O, Wuthiekanun V, Salje J, Low DA, Peacock SJ, Chantratita N.
BMC Microbiology 2015; 15 (56):1-15.
DOI: 10.1186/s12866-015-0395-7.

Screen of whole blood responses to flagellin identifies TLR5 variation associated with outcome in melioidosis.
Chantratita N, Tandhavanant S, Myers ND, Chierakul W, Robertson JD, Mahavanakul W, Singhasivanon P, Peacock SJ, West TE.
Genes Immun 2014:1-9. PMC3948086.
DOI: 10.1038/gene.2013.60. Epub 2013 Nov 28. PMID: 24285178

Common TLR1 genetic variation is not associated with death from melioidosis, a common cause of sepsis in rural Thailand.
Chantratita N, Tandhavanant S, Myers ND, Chierakul W, Wuthiekanun V, Mahavanakul W, Limmathurotsakul D, Peacock SJ, West TE.
Plos One 2014; 9(1):e83285. PMC3879377.
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0083285. eCollection 2014. PMID: 24392083