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Our laboratory is located in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Boston Children’s Hospital and affiliated with Harvard Medical School Departments of Pediatrics and Microbiology. We explore transcriptional regulation of bacterial metabolism, the interactions of commensal and pathogenic microbes with the host intestine, innate immunity and metabolism.

We use intestinal pathogens and commensal microbes to generate hypotheses in the genetically tractable model host Drosophila melanogaster and then test these hypotheses in mammalian models.  Our focus is the development of strategies to manipulate bacterial metabolism, amplify the beneficial effects of intestinal microbes, and prevent the deleterious effects of pathogens.

The following areas of investigation are actively being pursued in the laboratory.

• The role of the bacterial membrane in regulation of transcription.
• The intestinal response to Vibrio cholerae high cell density quorum sensing.
• Cell type-specific and regional regulation of intestinal innate immunity by commensals and pathogens.
• Sex steroid signaling in the intestinal innate immune response and systemic metabolism.

We aim to create a supportive, diverse, and inclusive environment in which laboratory members are empowered to pursue their personal, scientific, and career goals unhindered by bias and microaggressions. We are open about what we know and do not know because our primary goal is to advance knowledge.