Our laboratory is focused on understanding host-pathogen interactions, with emphasis on respiratory pathogens, and to use this knowledge to develop novel preventive and therapeutic strategies to protect against bacterial infection, especially in this era of increasing antibiotic resistance. Our work focuses on the interactions between (A) factors used by pathogenic organisms to establish colonization and cause disease, (B) the role of the resident microbiota in modulating pathogen behavior, and (C) host factors and inflammatory responses associated with colonization and infection. The main research projects in the laboratory study:

(1) Biofilm formation during bacterial colonization and how the composition of the respiratory microbiota as well as environmental factors (host inflammation, virus infection) modulate or trigger transition from colonization to infection, such as otitis media, pneumonia and sepsis. We use the results from these studies to develop vaccines and other strategies to protect individuals from infection.

(2) The direct bactericidal activity of HAMLET, a human milk protein-lipid complex, against various bacterial species as well as its adjuvant activity in sensitizing bacteria to a broad range of common antibiotics to provide novel therapeutic strategies against respiratory and other infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria.