Research Interests
Microbiology
Research Statement
The research of my laboratory focuses on how highly contagious and virulent bacterial pathogens cause disease in mammals. We use Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of the disease plague, as a model organism for these studies. We are currently exploring the mechanisms by which the bacteria subvert the host immune response during pneumonic plague as well as studying how Y. pestis regulates virulence gene expression during infection.