Infectious diseases continue to exact a high toll on the health of New Yorkers, and the potential for intentional use of infectious agents as biological terror agents also cannot be ignored. Infectious agents may be bacteria, fungi or viruses, and each requires a different treatment modality.
The threats to public health are especially high from newly emerging pathogens and well-known infectious agents that have become resistant to existing drug therapies, because the tools available for detection and/or treatment of these agents may be limited. In addition, medical advances in cancer treatment and organ transplantation have increased the number of people with immune deficiencies who are especially vulnerable to infectious agents.
The infectious disease process involves a complex interaction between the infecting agent(s) and the host immune responses that are mounted against them. The immune system must respond to each infecting agent with the proper balance of attack and restraint to eliminate the pathogen without causing damage to the host. Our scientific goals are to determine how specific microbial pathogens bypass natural host-defense mechanisms during the disease process, and to identify the components of the immune system that are needed to protect against each agent.
This information is critical for the development of new drugs to combat resistant organisms, vaccines to prevent disease, diagnostic assays to detect and track infectious agents, and biomarkers that correlate with disease susceptibility and/or progression. Investigators address these issues with a variety of molecular, microbiological, structural and immunological approaches.
Associated Researchers
Thomas M. Bartlett, Ph.D.
Cell biology of bacterial pathogens
We study the molecular basis of bacterial growth and cell shape determination in critical bacterial pathogens with “unusual” shapes. Our research helps us to understand how bacterial shape contributes to pathogenesis, and identifies vulnerabilities in understudied bacterial growth plans.
Sudha Chaturvedi, Ph.D.
Director, Mycology Laboratory
April D. Davis, DVM, Ph.D.
Director, Rabies Laboratory
Todd Gray, Ph.D.
Molecular Genetics of Mycobacteria
We use innovative molecular genomic approaches to address fundamental questions of mycobacterial biology. Our findings shed new light on the evolution and function of mycobacterial genomes, accelerating tuberculosis research.
David A. Lawrence, Ph.D.
Neuroimmunology and Immunotoxicology
We study the immunological aspect of the system biology effects from genetic susceptibilities and environmental stress defined as the exposome on autoimmune diseases, immune deficiencies, and neurodegenerative and neurobehavioral illnesses.
William T. Lee, Ph.D.
Immunological Memory and Diagnostic Immunology
María C López, Ph.D.
Clinical and Experimental Immunology
Nicholas J. Mantis, Ph.D.
Chief, Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology
Kathleen A. McDonough, Ph.D.
Director, Division of Infectious Disease
Anil K. Ojha, Ph.D.
Mycobacterial Persistence and Pathogenesis
Jon Paczkowski, Ph.D.
Microbial Signal Transduction and Cell-cell Communication
Joseph T. Wade, Ph.D.
Microbial Gene Expression
We study gene regulation in bacteria, with a focus on genome-scale approaches. We are interested in regulation of transcription, the function of non-coding RNAs, and leaderless translation initiation.