Assistant Professor
Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology
John A. Burns School of Medicine
651 Ilalo Street, BSB 320
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

Telephone: 808-692-1603
E-mail: walpitap@hawaii.edu

Education

PhD | 1979 | University of London, England

Vaccines; Protective immunity and pathogenesis of paramyxoviruses; Dendritic cell-pathogen interactions; T cell priming; Cytokines/Chemokines.

Research Interests

Dr. Walpita earned her PhD from the University of London, England. Before joining UH, she was a Senior Research Scientist at Wyeth Vaccines, and more recently as Research Faculty at University of Texas Medical Branch. Her research interests include molecular biology, immunology, and pathogenesis of paramyxoviruses. Her current investigations are focused on developing virus-like particle (VLP)-based vaccine for two of the paramyxoviruses, Nipah virus and respiratory syncytial virus. She is  pursuing studies to understand the biological and host response properties, and the ultrastructural make-up of varying VLPs with the aim of maximizing their therapeutic potential. An additional interest is in evaluating the molecular mechanisms of transcription and replication of viruses in the Paramyxovirinae subfamily.