Description:

Tiitle:

Using the Peptidoglycan Cell Wall to Diagnose, Treat, and Understand Lyme Disease

Topic:

Lyme disease is one of the most reported bacterial infections in the United States, and yet methods to diagnose, treat, and prevent patients are all hindered by critical knowledge gaps in understanding the causative agent Borrelia burgdorferi. Using the peptidoglycan cell wall as a bio-tool, our research program asks basic biological questions about this complex bacterium and vector-host system and we leverage our findings to tackle the biggest challenges in the field. Our studies extend beyond Lyme disease and into other spirochetal infections where we are discovering new biology and models to probe fundamental concepts in host-pathogen interactions. 

Speaker: Brandon Jutras, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Polytechnic and State University Fralin Life Science Institute, Blacksburg, VA

Host:

M-N Frances Yap, PhD

Bacteriology Faculty Candidate Search Committee

Dept. of Microbiology-Immunology

Northwestern University Feinberrg School of Medicine