Drug resistance in microorganisms; Salmonella typhimurium
Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium is an enteric pathogen capable of infecting
a wide range of hosts. The manner in which this pathogen is able to interact with its
host is difficult to define, as is the case with most microbes. Through the...
Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular pathogen that utilizes a type III secretion system to enter mammalian cells and establish an intracellular niche. TARP, the translocated actin recruitment protein, is a chlamydial invasion protein...
Monophosphoryl Lipid A (MPLA), a derivative of LPS endotoxin, is a TLR4 agonist that displays as little as 0.1-1% as much toxicity as its parent molecule while retaining immunostimulatory properties. We discovered that MPLA activates a TRIF-biased...
The objective of my dissertation research was to determine the role of chemical signals in conveying information regarding an individual's health status and suitability as a mate in humans and to examine the role that commensal microflora play in...
Cancer accounts for nearly one-quarter of deaths in the United States, exceeded only by heart diseases. Despite the development of various strategies to treat cancer, it remains one of the most deadly diseases worldwide due to the limited effects...
Quorum sensing (Microbiology); Cellular signal transduction; Bacterial genetics
Quorum sensing in the oral pathogen Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is dependent upon the soluble signaling molecule AI-2, but it is not known how the initial detection of AI-2 is coupled to the downstream regulation of gene expression that...
Depression is one of the most frequent causes of disability worldwide. It can
affect the psychological, social, and physical wellbeing of those that suffer from it, the
majority of which are women. Depression has been linked to immune activation as...
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic autoimmune disorder that is subdivided into Crohn's disease (CD), ulcerative colitis (UC), and indeterminate colitis (IC). Epidemiological studies have proven that genetic variation increases...
Protein C (PC) is an important anticoagulant, antithrombotic, and antiinflammatory in blood plasma. PC deficiency can lead to severe venous thrombotic events, including lung embolism, stroke, and heart attack. In the body, PC is activated only when...
The ability of L. pneumophila to cause disease depends on its replication in alveolar macrophages. Infectivity and the expression of various virulence traits is triggered at post exponential growth phase. We show that unlike quiescent macrophages,...
Water treatment facilities strive to provide potable drinking water to the community which they service. The most common way of insuring drinkable water that is free of pathogens is water chlorination, but this can lead to the production of...
