Associate Professor, Cellular and Molecular Biology
Phone: 903.877.7665
Email: buka.samten@uthct.edu
Department: Cellular and Molecular Biology
Buka Samten
Buka Samten completed his medical education at Xinjiang Medical University and his MS degree in Immunology at Beijing University School of Health Sciences in Beijing, China. He lectured immunology and experimental immunology to the medical school students and graduate students at these universities as an Assistant Professor after his graduation. In 1998, he joined the research group at the Center for Pulmonary and Infectious Diseases at the University of Texas at Tyler Health Science Center as a postdoctoral research fellow. Since then, he has conducted scientific research to understand the immune responses against tuberculosis infection. He was appointed as an Instructor of Microbiology and Immunology in 2002, Assistant Professor in 2006, and Associate Professor in 2009.
His research has focused on understanding the defects in immune responses of tuberculosis patients by examining the intracellular proteins of T cells of tuberculosis patients. He has also studied the effects of major virulence factors of tuberculosis pathogen, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, on immune cells, such as T cells, dendritic cells, and macrophages. His research was supported by funds from the Presidential Research Council of Health Science Center, the Potts Memorial Foundation, and grants from the National Institutes of Health. He has published over 60 research papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals, made numerous posters and oral presentations, and given invited talks at the national and international scientific meetings. He serves as an ad hoc grant reviewer for the American Heart Association and NIH study sections. He has also served as an ad hoc manuscript reviewer for several scientific journals in the field of infection and immunity.
He was awarded the Keystone Symposia Scholarship by the Keystone Symposia and Junior Faculty Travel Award and Laboratory Travel Grants by the American Association of Immunologists. His research interests include T cell immune responses against microbial pathogens, the interaction between Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the pathogen, and immune cells, and development of novel anti-tuberculosis drugs.
Education & Training
- Xinjiang Medical University
MD - Medicine, 1981-1986 - Beijing University School of Health Sciences
MS - Immunology, 1993-1996 - University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler
Postdoctoral - Immunology, 1998-2002
Research Interests
- Interaction between host immune cells and the pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis
- T cell immune responses against microbial pathogen
- Novel anti-tuberculosis drug development targeting immune cells and microbial factors
- Antigen presenting cells in infection
Courses Taught
- Medical Microbiology and Immunology (medical school students and graduate students in China)
- Critical Reading II (Biotech Master of Science Program, HSC)
- Advanced Immunology (Biotech Master of Science Program, HSC)
- Transgenic and gene knockout animal techniques (Biotech Master of Science Program, HSC)
- Laser Capture Microdissection and Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay with labs as
part of the Advanced Biotechnology Lectures (Biotech Master of Science Program, HSC)
Publication Highlights