Chair, Department of Microbiology
Jan T. Vilcek Professor of Molecular Pathogenesis, Department of Microbiology
Our lab investigates the molecular basis of host–pathogen interactions in the human respiratory tract. Most of our studies focus on the pathogenesis of Streptococcus pneumoniae because of its prominence as a cause of acute respiratory tract infection. Other pathogens under investigation in our laboratory include Haemophilus influenzae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, and influenza A virus.
Many of our research projects focus on colonization of the upper airway mucosa, the initial step in the disease process, with particular interest in both host and pathogen factors affecting colonization. We employ bacterial genetics to examine the effects of specific microbial genes, along with mouse models of colonization to study infection in genetically modified hosts.
Ongoing projects in our lab include examinations of the following:
mechanisms by which colonizing microbes stimulate and evade innate and adaptive immune responses
mechanisms that facilitate interspecies competition within a host
factors affecting competition between co-colonizing pneumococci
effects of influenza co-infection on bacterial colonization
pneumococcal interaction with neutrophils and macrophages and evasion of clearance by professional phagocytes
the role of phosphorylcholine, a surface constituent of many respiratory tract inhabitants, in pathogenesis
host and bacterial factors affecting shedding and host-to-host transmission
the systemic effects of colonizing flora (microbiota) on innate immunity
Jan T. Vilcek Professor of Molecular Pathogenesis, Department of Microbiology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine
Chair, Department of Microbiology
MD from Harvard University
Fellowship, Oxford University, Oxford, UK, Lab of E.R. Moxon
Fellowship, Rockefeller University, New York, NY, Lab of E.C. Gotschlich
Residency, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, Pediatrics
Cell host & microbe. 2024 Sep 11; 32(9):1608-1620.e4
Cell reports. 2024 May 28; 43(5):114131
PLoS pathogens. 2024 May; 20(5):e1012111
Annals of the American Thoracic Society. 2024; A7113-A7113
Nature communications. 2023 Nov 17; 14(1):7454
PLoS pathogens. 2023 Aug; 19(8):e1011509
Science immunology. 2023 Jun 23; 8(84):eadd6910