My research to date has focused on pathogens of both humans and animals. Previously for my Ph.D I studied the horse pathogen Rhodococcus equi, which causes a tuberculosis like disease in young foals which is usually lethal. I studied metabolic pathways that were thought to be essential for virulence of this intracellular pathogen after it entered alveolar macrophages.
Presently in Dr. McCormick’s Lab I am studying the interaction of Salmonella typhimurium with epithelial cells in the intestine. Infection with Salmonella leads to severe inflammation with neutrophils migrating into the intestine along with a large amount of electrolytes and fluid. My research focuses on Salmonella proteins that induce this inflammation. I also am using truncated Salmonella proteins to see if these are capable of inducing the same response as well as identifying what epithelial cell membrane proteins are interacting with Salmonella. Thus, we aim to better understand the molecular mechanisms by which S. typhimurium induces active states of intestinal inflammation so that novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of this disease, and potentially inflammatory bowel diseases, can be developed.
Biosketch:
2004-Present Postdoctoral Fellow
Mucosal Immunology/Microbiology
Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
2000-2003 Graduate Student
Molecular Microbiology Laboratory
University College Dublin/Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, Dublin, Ireland
