Calvin M. Johnson, DVM, PhD, Diplomate ACVP Dr. Calvin M. Johnson is Professor and Head of the Department of Pathobiology, which fulfills a balanced mission of research, instruction, and clinical service/outreach.   Dr. Johnson’s research interests include the pathogenesis of FIV infection, thymus disorders, mesenchymal stem cell therapy, lymphoma, developmental immunology, and feline heartworm disease.  Dr. Johnson is board certified in veterinary anatomic pathology, and serves as a practicing pathologist in the surgical pathology and necropsy pathology services.  In the veterinary medical curriculum, he instructs senior students in the diagnostic pathology and leads classes in clinical problem solving.  Dr. Johnson is an active participant in pathology residency training and serves as a mentor for graduate students in experimental pathology.
(334) 844-2650 johncal@auburn.edu
Research Interests Dr. Johnson’s laboratory investigates the pathogenesis of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection of domestic cats.   FIV is a lentivirus that resembles HIV in virion structure and virus-host interaction. Members of the laboratory investigate issues relevant to pediatric HIV infection, including the influence of fetal infection on the ontogeny of the immune system, the role of the thymus in pediatric AIDS pathogenesis, and the development of novel gene therapy strategies to FIV infection.Other ongoing projects have begun to define the pulmonary pathogenesis of feline heartworm infection, the in vivo cell tropism of Anaplasma marginale infection, and the classification of feline lymphoma. Selected Publications Carreno, A.D., Mergia, A., Novak, J., Gengozian, N., and Johnson, C.M. (2008) Loss of Naive (CD45RA+) CD4+ Lymphocytes During Pediatric Infection with Feline Immunodeficiency Virus.  Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology, 121: 161-168 Blagburn, B.L., Dillon, A.R., Tillson, D.M., Brawner, W.R., Welles, E., Johnson, C.M., Spencer, J.A., Kaltenboeck, B., Boothe, D.M., and Rynders, P. (2007) Feline Heartworm Disease: A New Perspective.  Insights in Veterinary Medicine,  5:3 1-5 Novak, J.M., Crawford, P.C., Kolenda-Roberts, H.M., Johnson, C.M., and Mergia, A.  (2007) Viral gene expression and provirus load of Orf-A defective FIV in lymphoid tissues and lymphocyte subpopulations of neonatal cats during acute and chronic infections.  Virus Research, 130 (1-2): 110-120 Kolenda-Roberts, HM, Kuhnt, LA, Jennings, RN, Mergia, A, Gengozian, N, and Johnson, C.M. (2007) Immunopathogenesis of feline immunodeficiency virus infection in the fetal and neonatal cat. Frontiers in Bioscience, 12: 3668-3682 Carreno, AD, Alleman, AR, Barbet, AF, Palmer, GH, Noh, SM, and Johnson, C.M. (2007)  In vivo endothelial cell infection by Anaplasma marginale, Veterinary Pathology, 44: 116-118 Sweat, JM, Johnson, C.M., Marikar, Y., Gibbs, EP (2005) Characterization of surface Interleukin-2 receptor expression on gated populations of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from manatees, Trichechus manatus latirostris, Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology, 108: 269-283 Park, J, Nadeau, P, Zucali, JR, Johnson, C.M., Mergia, A (2005) Inhibition of simian immunodeficiency virus by foamy virus vectors expressing siRNAs, Virology, 343: 275-282 Crawford PC, Dubovi EJ, Castleman WL, Stephenson I, Gibbs EP, Chen L, Smith C, Hill RC, Ferro P, Pompey J, Bright RA, Medina MJ, Johnson C.M., Olsen CW, Cox NJ, Klimov AI, Katz JM, Donis RO (2005) Transmission of equine influenza virus to dogs., Science, 310 (5747): 482-485 Brown, L, Carter, TD, Snyder, P, Levy, JK, Johnson, C.M. (2005) Pulmonary Arterial Disease in Cats Seropositive for Dirofilaria Immitis But Lacking Cardiopulmonary Adult Heartworms, American Journal of Veterinary Research, 66(9): 1544-1549 Wellehan JF, Johnson AJ, Harrach B, Benko M, Pessier AP, Johnson C.M., Garner MM, Childress A, Jacobson ER (2004) Detection and analysis of six lizard adenoviruses by consensus primer PCR provides further evidence of a reptilian origin for the atadenoviruses, Journal of Virology, 78(23): 13366-13369 Johnson C.M., Gengozian N, Mergia A (2004) Hematopoiesis in the feline fetal liver: an assessment by flow cytometry, Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology, 99(1-2): 53-62 Cook AL (2004) Beta 2 microglobulin and resistance to murine respiratory mycoplasmosis [Corrected citation 43 (4): 7], Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science / American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, 43(3): 18-24 Jacobson, ER, Robertson, DR, Lafortune, M, and Johnson, C.M. (2004) Renal Failure and Bilateral Thymoma in an American Bullfrog, Rana catesbiana, J Herpe Med Surg, 14(2): 15-20 Fleming, GJ, Heard DJ, Uhl, EW, Johnson, C.M. (2004) Thymic Hyperplasia in Sub-adult Galapagos Tortoises (Geochelone nigra), J Herpe Med Surg, 14(1): 24-27