Genetic Diversity and Molecular Epidemiology of Group B Streptococcus. Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is the primary cause of invasive infections (e.g., bacteremia and meningitis) in newborns and pregnant women and an increasingly important cause of disease in the elderly. While a lot of attention has recently been focused on the discovery of GBS virulence genes, little is known about the contributions and interactions between them towards the pathogenicity of GBS. In collaboration with Dr. Dele Davies (Pediatrics), we are engaged in a molecular epidemiologic investigation of invasive GBS isolates and maternal colonizing isolates. Our goals are to elucidate the relationships between different virulence genes with GBS colonization and invasion, and to develop a multilocus gene profiling system that would be useful for future epidemiologic and evolutionary studies of this organism. This project is supported by NIH R01-AI06608.
Global Phylogeny of Mycobacterium tuberculosis based on Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) Analysis. Tuberculosis is a globally distributed infectious disease with an estimated 1 billion persons infected with the bacterial agent M. tuberculosis. In collaboration with Dr. David Alland and other researchers at the Center for the Study of Emerging and Reemerging Pathogens at UMDNJ, we are analyzing a worldwide collection of M. tuberculosis isolates using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. The SNP markers are being used to test hypothesis about the history and geographic spread of tuberculosis. This project is supported by NIH R01-AI049352
Acid resistance among Shiga toxin-producing E. coli in food matrices. Pathogenic strains of E. coli, such as E. coli O157:H7, have been shown to be unusually acid resistant, surviving acidic conditions typically expected to inactivate bacteria. Adaptations for survival in low pH environments may also contribute to risk of foodborne illness.
