Current Lab Projects
Host-Directed Therapeutics
We have identified a series of drugs that are effective at controlling Rickettsia infection in culture. The cool parts are these drugs are 1) already approved by the FDA and 2) do not target the bacteria. Each of these drugs actually target the host cell so that the intracellular environment is no longer hospitable to bacteria. We aim to define the potential for using these drugs against multiple different infections.
Rickettsia vs. Innate Immunity
Bacteria and their hosts have had millennia of evolution to form interactions that we observe as disease or commensalism or everything in between. Rickettsia and mammals have developed a back-and-forth interplay with a portion of the immune system called the complement system. Rickettsia have evolved mechanisms to steal proteins that normally coat our own cells to protect us from the immune system. However, this has a cost. The complement system cannot kill the bacteria, but is does "call for help" from other portions of the immune system to ultimately fight the infection. We aim to further define this interplay to determine if we develop new methods to fight infection.
Vaccinology
Though Rickettsia infections have historically been major killers, there are not available vaccines to prevent these infections. We are always searching for new and better vaccine targets on the bacterial surface that may lead to developing new ways to fight Rickettsia infections.
Defining Changes to the Bacteria in Different Hosts
The Rickettsia life cycle involves repeated cycles of infection in mammalian and arthropod (ticks, lice, fleas) hosts. The environment within these arthropods is drastically different than mammalian hosts. Vector-borne bacteria have to adapt to each host type by changing nearly everything about their biology. We aim to better define these changes to Rickettsia RNA and proteins that contribute to survival in each host type.
The University of Maryland- College Park
The University of Maryland is a vibrant place to work, home to three Nobel laureates, five Pulitzer Prize recipients, and more than 40 members of the most prestigious national academies. The 1,250 acre campus is centrally located on the Baltimore, Annapolis and Washington, D.C. corridor; the nexus of the nation’s legislative, executive, and judicial centers of power. With Maryland’s stature as one of the nation’s premier public research universities, and our exceptional community of faculty, staff, and students, there has never been a better time to be part of this great University. Cheer the Turtle!
Department of Veterinary Medicine
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The Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maryland, College Park and the Maryland Campus of the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine (VMCVM) are integrated as a single unit housed in the Avrum Gudelsky Veterinary Center at the University of Maryland, College Park Campus.
To protect and improve the health of animals and the people of Maryland, the United States and the global community through the provision of exemplary education programs to undergraduate, graduate and professional students, conducting cutting-edge research programs in animal and public health, and providing outstanding Extension and Continuing Education programs to improve the quality of life in Maryland and the world.
