Research
Our research addresses fundamental questions in Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, while using the bacterial pathogen Salmonella enterica as a useful and relevant model. Our overall goals are to better understand, on the mechanistic level, how pathogens cause diseases and develop novel approaches to deal with burning clinical challenges such as the antibiotic resistance pandemic and current outbreaks.
Current interests and ongoing projects
Figure 1 DEGs of intracellular S. Typhimurium compared to growth in LB medium.
1. WHY DO GENETICALLY-SIMILAR SALMONELLA SEROVARS, WHICH BELONG TO THE SAME SPECIES CAUSE DIFFERENT DISEASES IN HUMANS.
The species Salmonella enterica is one of the most prevalent and diverse human and animal pathogens, consisting of more than 2600 distinct serovars. Although a significant progress has been made in our understanding of the mechanisms, by which Salmonella interacts with host cells, the molecular basis underlying the human host-specificity of typhoidal Salmonella and their unique pathogenicity is still not understood. Therefore, efforts are made in the lab to identify, characterize and understand the mechanisms underlying differences in the pathogenicy and host-specificity of typhoidal vs. non-typhoidal salmonellae.
Examples of such studies can be found in the following published papers:
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Funding
