College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
Department of Veterinary Sciences
1174 Snowy Range Rd
Laramie, WY 82070
Phone: 307-766-9926
Fax: 307-721-2051
Email: vetscience@uwyo.edu
2010 Ph.D. Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine
2002 B.S. Cell and Molecular Biology, Oklahoma State University
My research focuses on defining the molecular mechanisms by which intracellular bacteria
remodel the host cell to create a pathogen-tailored niche for replication. A microbiologist
by training, I have experience working with several important human bacterial pathogens:
Chlamydia trachomatis, Francisella tularensis, and Coxiella burnetii. I am especially
interested in the identification of regulation of bacterial gene expression, novel
virulence factors, and host responses to infection.
My primary research interest is defining the molecular mechanisms of Coxiella burnetii
pathogenesis. Coxiella burnetii is the highly infectious causative agent of Q fever,
which can manifest as an acute, severe respiratory zoonosis, or a debilitating chronic
disease accompanied by intense fatigue, or endocarditis. This Gram-negative, naturally
obligate intracellular bacterium preferentially infects macrophages and replicates
within an intracellular compartment that resembles a mature phagolysosome. A distinguishing
characteristic of C. burnetii is its ability to enter these cells without significantly
activating innate immune defenses or polarizing the cell to a proinflammatory phenotype.
To date, the virulence factors that have been principally credited with this pathogenic
paradigm are its anti-inflammatory lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and the effectors of
its Type IVb Secretion system (T4SS).
To investigate its unique pathogenic properties, I have developed a unique infection
model for Coxiella using primary murine macrophages. This macrophage infection model
enables me to ask fundamental questions about how C. burnetii modulates its host and
evades destruction by host innate immune defenses in a relevant pathogenic niche.
I have also incorporated bacterial genetics, an animal model of disease, transcriptomics,
and cell biological techniques to form a multidisciplinary approach to investigating
Coxiella pathogenesis. Long-term, I plan to use Coxiella infection to answer fundamental
questions about the defenses macrophages employ against invading pathogens and how
bacteria evade them. I believe that my distinctive infection model will allow me to
discover novel mechanisms of Coxiella pathogenesis while uncovering unappreciated
facets of macrophage biology.
American Society for Rickettsiology
American Society for Microbiology
College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
Department of Veterinary Sciences
1174 Snowy Range Rd
Laramie, WY 82070
Phone: 307-766-9926
Fax: 307-721-2051
Email: vetscience@uwyo.edu