John Beckham, M.D.

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John Beckham, M.D., is a Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases & Geographic Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He specializes in general infectious diseases, neurological infections, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Dr. Beckham earned his medical degree and completed internal medicine residency training at Baylor College of Medicine. He completed an infectious disease clinical fellowship and postdoctoral neurovirology research training at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

Board certified in internal medicine and infectious disease, Dr. Beckham joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2023.

A prolific writer and lecturer, Dr. Beckham has contributed to 11 books and published numerous academic articles related to his areas of expertise. He serves on the editorial board of Journal of Neuroimmunology, as an ad hoc reviewer for several scholarly journals, and as a member of several National Institutes of Health grant review committees.

Dr. Beckham is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the Infectious Diseases Society of America. He is also a member of the American Society for Virology, the American Society for Microbiology, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Association of Immunologists, and the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

RESEARCH

Dr. Beckham started an independent laboratory that studied the pathogenesis of flavivirus infections with a focus on infections in the central nervous system. The laboratory discovered that West Nile virus induces autophagy independent of viral replication in neurons through modulation of mTOR activity to support viral protein translation through cap-dependent cellular signaling pathways. At the beginning of the Zika virus outbreak, the laboratory was also collaborating on research studying flavivirus 3' untranslated region (UTR) RNA structures. The laboratory used the crystal structure of the 3'UTR RNA structure termed exonuclease-resistant RNA 1 (xrRNA1) to define the role of xrRNAs in the biogenesis of subgenomic flavivirus RNAs (sfRNAs) during infection. This work has now expanded to include additional studies evaluating the role of 3'UTR RNA structures of related flaviviruses in the pathogenesis of flavivirus infections.

Dr. Beckham's lab also studies the virology and vaccine approaches associated with emerging RNA viruses, as well as the unique immune responses in the brain that prevent infections but may also contribute to neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease.

In 2016, the Beckham laboratory discovered that alpha-synuclein, a neuronal protein of unclear function, restricts RNA virus infections in the brain. The laboratory subsequently found that alpha-synuclein functions to restrict virus infection through unique interactions with STAT proteins in neurons resulting in expression of interferon stimulated genes. The laboratory continues work to define the mechanisms by which synuclein proteins interact with interferon signaling pathways in neurons.

J. David Beckham Research Lab

PERSONAL

Outside of medicine, Dr. Beckham enjoys running, biking, hiking, and mountain climbing.

Medical School

Baylor College of Medicine (2001)

Residency

Baylor College of Medicine (2004), Internal Medicine

Fellowship

University of Colorado School of Medicine (2007), Infectious Diseases

• Arbovirus Pathogenesis
• Neuroimmunology and neurodegeneration

Brain Abscesses in the Tropics

Corbisiero MF, Ripperton RA, Creighton EG, Smyth AM, Beckham JD, Henao-Martínez AF Current Tropical Medicine Reports 2023 Dec 10 235-243

A functional role for alpha-synuclein in neuroimmune responses

Heiden DL, Monogue B, Ali MD, Beckham JD Journal of Neuroimmunology 2023 Mar 376

Severely ill and high-risk COVID-19 patients exhibit increased peripheral circulation of CD62L+ and perforin+ T cells

Lesteberg KE, Araya P, Waugh KA, Chauhan L, Espinosa JM, Beckham JD Frontiers in immunology 2023 Feb 14

Activation and pro-inflammatory cytokine production by unswitched memory B cells during SARS-CoV-2 infection

Castleman MJ, Santos AL, Lesteberg KE, Maloney JP, Janssen WJ, Mould KJ, Beckham JD, Pelanda R, Torres RM Frontiers in immunology 2023 14

Clinical and Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Agricultural Workers, Guatemala¹

Olson D, Calvimontes DM, Lamb MM, Guzman G, Barrios E, Chacon A, Rojop N, Arias K, Gomez M, Bolanos GA, Monzon J, Chard AN, Iwamoto C, Duca LM, Vuong N, Fineman M, Lesteberg K, Beckham D, Santiago ML, Quicke K, Ebel G, Gutierrez EZ, Azziz-Baumgartner E, Hayden FG, Mansour H, Edwards K, Newman LS, Asturias EJ Emerging Infectious Diseases 2022 Dec 28 S277-S287

Nervous System Manifestations of Arboviral Infections

Chauhan L, Matthews E, Piquet AL, Henao-Martinez A, Franco-Paredes C, Tyler KL, Beckham D, Pastula DM Current Tropical Medicine Reports 2022 Dec 9 107-118

Author Correction: Enoxaparin augments alpha-1-antitrypsin inhibition of TMPRSS2, a promising drug combination against COVID-19 (Scientific Reports, (2022), 12, 1, (5207), 10.1038/s41598-022-09133-9)

Bai X, Buckle AM, Vladar EK, Janoff EN, Khare R, Ordway D, Beckham D, Fornis LB, Majluf-Cruz A, Fugit RV, Freed BM, Kim S, Sandhaus RA, Chan ED Scientific reports 2022 Dec 12

Enoxaparin augments alpha-1-antitrypsin inhibition of TMPRSS2, a promising drug combination against COVID-19

Bai X, Buckle AM, Vladar EK, Janoff EN, Khare R, Ordway D, Beckham D, Fornis LB, Majluf-Cruz A, Fugit RV, Freed BM, Kim S, Sandhaus RA, Chan ED Scientific reports 2022 Dec 12

Alpha-synuclein supports type 1 interferon signalling in neurons and brain tissue

Monogue B, Chen Y, Sparks H, Behbehani R, Chai A, Rajic AJ, Massey A, Kleinschmidt-Demasters BK, Vermeren M, Kunath T, Beckham JD Brain 2022 Oct 145 3622-3636

Autoantibodies elicited with SARS-CoV-2 infection are linked to alterations in double negative B cells

Castleman MJ, Stumpf MM, Therrien NR, Smith MJ, Lesteberg KE, Palmer BE, Maloney JP, Janssen WJ, Mould KJ, Beckham JD, Pelanda R, Torres RM Frontiers in immunology 2022 Sep 13

 Featured Books

Viral Encephalitis. In Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases

J. David Beckham and Kenneth Tyler (2023). Elsevier Churchill Livingstone

Arboviruses Causing Fever, Rash, and Neurologic Syndromes. In Goldman-Cecil Medicine

J. David Beckham (2023).

• NIH MIDB Study Section Member
  (2018-2023)
• VA Merit Scholar
  Veteran's Affairs Merit Scholar (2017-2023)
• Fellow, Infectious Disease Society of America
  (2014)
• Fellow, American College of Physicians
  (2012)
• American Society for Clinical Investigation Young Investigator Award
  (2008)

• American Association for the Advancement of Science
• American Association of Immunologists
• American Society for Clinical Investigation
• American Society for Microbiology
• American Society for Virology
• American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
• Department of Molecular Microbiology (2023)
• Infectious Diseases Society of America
• Peter O'Donnell Brain Institute (2023)