Labs

We seek to understand how the causative agent of tuberculosis, namely the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis evades host immunity, and how different components of the immune response work together to contain infection. Our ultimate goal is to inform vaccine development and the design of host directed therapy.

The Bucci lab seeks to understand mechanisms responsible for the temporal and spatial dynamics of complex biological systems such as the human microbiome and to develop tools to predict and engineer them.

The Colubri lab  conducts research at the interface between genetics, epidemiology, machine learning and data visualization.  Our goal is to create new tools that integrate heterogenous data sources (ranging from genome sequences to environmental factors) with applications not only in infectious disease prediction, but also in science outreach and STEM education.

We study viral entry at the single-molecule level. We use both functional virology assays and single particle techniques to determine the conformation and dynamics of viral envelope proteins before and during membrane fusion/virus entry.

My research program focuses on the molecular and cellular biology of B lymphocytes in three types of disfunction: 1) aging of the immune system; 2) B cell lymphoma and 3) the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis (MS). We investigate the generation and invasiveness of B cell lymphoma. For MS, we are interested in the mechanism behind the success of B cell depletion therapy and we are partners in biomarker flow cytometry analysis in clinical trials for this therapy.

Our lab studies control of eukaryotic mRNA translation and decay.

Our lab explores host-microbe interactions, including pathogenic bacteria, viruses and microbiome; brain-gut-microbiota axis in health and disease; and SARS-CoV-2 cellular pathogenesis.

Our research focuses on cytoplasmic aspects of post-transcriptional regulation in eukaryotes.

Our lab focuses on cellular and organismal studies of viral infections.

We investigate how manipulation of the gut microbiota through diet can improve clinical outcomes in patients with chronic diseases.

We investigate epithelial barrier function in the intestine and mucosal inflammation during enteric bacterial pathogen infection and inflammatory bowel diseases.

Our lab focuses on the identification and classification of host-virus interactions using functional genomics.

We study basic mechanisms of infection of enveloped, RNA viruses as well as vaccine development.

We are devoted to the development and application of quantitative, biophysical approaches to studying a variety of viral pathogens, including HIV, influenza, Ebola, Lassa and SARS-CoV-2.

Our lab focuses on recombineering technologies for the modification of mycobacterial genes, identification of new antibiotics for tuberculosis and the molecular mechanisms of mycobacterial DNA mismatch repair.

Our research is aimed at identifying novel vulnerable targets in the pathways that regulate essential cellular processes in the pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Mycobacterial cell wall synthesis remains one such attractive target for drug therapy. We are using combinations of genetic and chemical inhibition-based approaches to help identify vulnerable components in non-redundant pathways mediating cell wall synthesis that can be targeted for effective therapy.

The Rittenhouse lab is exploring the role that voltage-gated Ca²⁺ channel (VGCC) subunits play in the body.

The development of transformational new interventions for tuberculosis relies on understanding the fundamental biology that determines the outcome of an infection. The Sassetti lab applies a combination of mammalian and bacterial genetic strategies to understand the intricate interactions between phenotypically diverse host and pathogen influence pathogenesis and the response to therapy.

The Schrader lab is exploring B cell immunology, focusing on antibody diversification mechanisms of class switch recombination and somatic hypermutation.

The Tai lab works toward the development of next-generation of rAAVs and other therapeutic platforms.

The focus of the lab is to understand the mechanisms of oxidative stress resistance genes and their role in preventing neurodegeneration. We are currently conducting gene therapy experiments to prevent neurodegeneration using an adeno-associated viral vector (AAV) that expresses the human OXR1 gene. Initial experiments demonstrate that elevated expression of OXR1 increases cellular resistance to oxidative stress and AAV8-hOXR1 delays degeneration of the photoreceptor neurons of the retina, a key step leading to blindness in multiple retinal degenerative diseases.

Our group applies microbial genomic and metagenomic approaches to understand  how bacteria contribute to human health and infectious disease, focusing on the transmission of pathogenic strains both in the hospital and in the community.

The ZhuGe lab studies the molecular mechanisms by which Ca2+ signals and ion channels control neurotransmitter release and smooth muscle contractility. We also exploit new physiological functions of bitter taste receptors in extra-oral tissues and organs.