Shonna M. McBride, PhD

ARTDTP Research Discipline:

Shonna McBride, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Emory University School of Medicine. Research in the McBride laboratory centers on the emerging pathogen, Clostridium difficile. C. difficile is an spore-forming and toxin-producing bacterium that causes chronic intestinal disease which is both difficult and costly to treat. The two main factors that contribute to C. difficile infections are the ability of the bacterium to form resilient spores that allow the pathogen to spread, and the inherent resistance of the bacterium to antimicrobials. Current research topics in the lab include characterizing the genetic pathways that control spore formation, identifying mechanisms of resistance to antimicrobials, and investigating therapeutics to combat C. difficile infections. Research by the McBride lab has identified novel mechanisms used by this bacterium to respond to antimicrobial peptides, such as the CprABC transporter and the ClnRAB regulatory system, and a regulator of both toxin production and sporulation, RstA

Dr. McBride joined the Emory faculty in June 2012.  She received her Ph.D. degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 2005 and a Bachelor of Science degree from McNeese State University in 1999.  She trained as a postdoctoral fellow in the field of bacterial pathogenesis at the Schepens Eye Research Institute of Harvard Medical School from 2005 to 2008 and at the Tufts University School of Medicine from 2008 to 2012.  Dr. McBride’s research is supported by a K01 Career Development Award and an R03 Research grant from the NIDDK/NIH.  

ARTDTP Faculty Collaborators:

Joanna B. Goldberg, PhD
William M. Shafer, PhD
David S. Weiss, PhD