Christine Wiggins (LAUFFENBURGER LAB)

Antibiotics in Lyme Arthritis: A Humoral Immune Modeling Approach to Dissecting Outcomes

Arthritis occurs in roughly 30% of people infected with Lyme disease but typically resolves with antibiotic treatment. However, some Lyme arthritis cases are refractory to antibiotics. To better understand differences between outcomes, we utilized computational approaches to model humoral immune response in antibiotic-responsive and antibiotic-refractory patients for both serum and joint fluid. Here, we present fluid-specific humoral profiles distinct to each patient group.

Christine Zheng (BRYSON LAB)

Engineering Reporters for Host-mediated Killing of Mycobacteria

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis, is a leading cause of infectious disease-related death worldwide. The ability of host cells to control Mtb infection is highly heterogeneous, and the factors that lead to successful killing of intracellular Mtb versus unrestricted growth are poorly understood. To better understand the processes influencing disease outcome, we need better tools to closely study intracellular bacterial death dynamics. Here, we present the development of a FlipGFP-based reporter that allows us to rapidly visualize host-mediated killing of bacteria in individual cells.