Bacterial Infections
Although bacteria like E. Coli are the basis for much modern biological research, certain bacterial diseases in humans–including tuberculosis, trachoma, buruli ulcer, and chlamydia—have been under-studied relative to disease burden. One of the challenges in treating these infections is the rising incidence of drug resistance. New antibiotics are often rendered ineffective, in part because of inappropriate or incorrect use. Bacteria are also able to adapt to, and evade, treatment molecules. This necessitates a constant search for new drug targets, treatments, and precise diagnostics that can determine a bacterial strain’s susceptibility to a particular therapy.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
(Photo: Tom Alber)
A diverse array of model organisms is used in the search for new antibiotics. The discoveries made studying these microbes can inform researchers’ understandings of other more pathogenic organisms. For example, CEND investigator Dan Portnoy has used experiments with Listeria monocytogenes, an mild intracellular bacterial pathogen, to elucidate the process by which intracellular pathogens move from cell to cell, without being detected by the body’s immune system.
Manfred Auer, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- Molecular mechanisms in cancer malignancy and metastasis with a focus on cell-cell adhesion patterns
- Study of the molecular composition and role of vesicles in Myxococcus Xanthus
- Ultrastructural analysis of Myxococcus xanthus biofilms
- Ultrastructural characterization of S1/T4 cell lines in Matrigel
Suzanne Fleiszig, Professor, Vision Science and Optometry, Infectious Diseases & Immunity, Microbiology
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Pathogenesis of bacterial infections of the cornea, particularly pseudomonas
Brian Krantz, Professor, Molecular and Cell Biology, Chemistry
- Protein translocation across membranes
- Anthrax toxin translocation
Sangwei Lu, Professor, Infectious Diseases
- Pathogenesis and transmission of Salmonella
- Foodborne pathogens
- Foodborne diseases – detection and prevention
Hiroshi Nikaido, Professor, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology
- Efflux-based drug resistance in bacteria
- Molecular basis of bacterial outer membrane permeability
Dan Portnoy, Professor, Molecular and Cell Biology
- Listeria monocytogenes as a model for intracellular bacterial pathogens
Lee Riley, Professor, Epidemiology, Infectious Disease
- Mechanism of persistent infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, agent of TB
- Molecular epidemiology of drug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections
Richard Stephens, Professor, Molecular Epidemiology
- Molecular interactions of Chlamydia and the host in the context of specific microbe-cell interaction
- The genetic basis of chlamydial developmental regulation at the level of macromolecular chromosomal
- Molecular epidemiology of chlamydial infections
Russell Vance, Professor, Molecular and Cell Biology
- Role of Naip5 in immune defense against intracellular bacteria
- Cytosolic detection of bacterial flagellin by macrophages
- Novel cytosolic surveillance pathways for sensing infection
Qing Zhong, Professor, Molecular and Cell Biology
- Biochemical dissection of Autophagy pathway
- Autophagic responses to oncogenic stress, environmental toxicants exposure, and energy crisis.