Dr. Theo N Kirkland is a Professor at the University of California San Diego. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1972 and his MD from the University of Alabama School of Medicine in 1975. He has been a professor at the University of California San Diego since 1982. His clinical career has included clinical infectious disease practice and clinical microbiology. His research has focused on two topics: innate immune receptors for bacterial products and coccidioidomycosis. He studied the function and structure of CD14 and MD-2. His research in coccidioidomycosis includes studies of genetically determined susceptibility to infection, potential vaccines, genomics and transcriptomics.