Molecular mechanisms of colonization resistance to enteric pathogens

Seminar Details
Wednesday, April 19, 2017 - 9:00am to 10:00am

Speaker

Joe Pickard, Ph.D.
Research Fellow - Pathology
Nunez Lab
University of Michigan

Location

5623 Med. Sci. II  (Wheeler Seminar Room)

The normal resident bacteria in the gut protect the host from infection with pathogens (“colonization resistance”). This is important for human health, as enteric pathogens are significant causes of morbidity and mortality, and modern antibiotic use and poor diet have increasingly compromised our gut microbiota. Although the phenomenon of colonization resistance has been known for decades, it is still unclear which of the many proposed mechanisms are most important in vivo, and which symbiotic bacteria are key to protection. By using an unbiased fractionation approach and in vitro screening, along with isolation of selected symbiotic bacteria, I hope to identify key molecules and species involved in this protection.

Sponsored by the Host Microbiome Initiative