Understanding the genetic principles and molecular mechanisms used by microorganisms to cause disease and the immune system to prevent disease is key to our ability to developing future therapies to combat infectious disease, autoimmunity, and cancer. Today, the ability to create new molecules, determine and assess the sequences of entire genomes, and develop epigenetic maps and profiles of entire organisms has opened the door to exciting new developments and opportunities to understand the genetic principles of virulence, how microorganisms and the immune system develop, differentiate, and how organisms become resistant to antibiotics.
Areas of interest include: mechanisms of antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation; microbiota analyses; epigenetic mechanisms of gene regulation; mechanisms of bacterial and viral replication; antibiotic resistance; and transcription regulation of gene expression.