To persistently colonize a host or cause disease, microbes must be able to sense and adapt to host pressures at different body sites. Our laboratory studies the opportunistic Streptococcal pathogens, S. pneumoniae and S. agalactiae (Group B Streptococcus, GBS). Both organisms asymptomatically colonize host mucosal surfaces but are leading causes of community acquired pneumonia and neonatal and pediatric meningitis. Our work combines the use of in vitro models of host interactions, molecular biology and next generation sequencing technologies, and in vivo models to study the molecular mechanisms involved in bacterial colonization and infection. We are specifically interested in understanding how these organisms respond to changes in nutrient availability in vivo, how they are able to evade the host immune response, and how they interact with other members of the native microbiota.

For more information, visit my lab page.