Wilmore Webley, associate professor in Microbiology, is the director of Pre-Med/Pre-Health Advising, and oversees advising for 1,500 undergraduates across campus exploring careers in the medical, dental, and health fields. Wilmore Webley earned his PhD in microbiology with expertise in immunology, pathogenic bacteriology, and host-pathogen interactions at the University of Massachusetts in 2003. He is currently a tenure track Assistant Professor of microbiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His research has focused on Chlamydia vaccine development and the role of pathogenic microbes in asthma initiation and exacerbation. His laboratory was the first to culture Chlamydia from bronchoalveolar lavage samples taken from pediatric patients with chronic, severe asthma and has since shown that early life chlamydial infection increases the risk for asthma onset. His recent work has demonstrated the efficacy of antibiotics in treating a subset of asthmatics. His work has been published in reputable international journals and has made significant contributions to the field of microbiology, allergy and immunology. He is a member of the American Society for Microbiology and Sigma XI - The Scientific Research Society. His research focuses on infectious disease mechanisms and the role of specific infections in chronic diseases. Specifically, the Webley Lab is pioneering work in Chlamydia vaccine development and the role of pathogenic microbes in asthma initiation and exacerbation. The laboratory was the first to culture Chlamydia from bronchoalveolar lavage samples taken from pediatric patients with chronic, severe asthma and has since shown that early-life chlamydial infection increases the risk for asthma onset and results in a unique asthma phenotype.

Wilmore Webley research interests include Chlamydia pathobiology Host-pathogen interaction Human compatible vaccine display and delivery systems