No thesis selected. I am interested in studying the genetic factors that influence disease susceptibility and resistance. There is a complex and continuously evolving relationship between the host and pathogen genomes. Our immune system provides a formidable barrier. However, pathogens have developed a variety of techniques to subvert our immune system including: evasion through latency and antigenic variation; the use of immunomodulatory proteins which disrupt key host defenses such as the complement system, the cytokine network, and antigen processing and presentation; and infection of cells essential to the immune response. Understanding this interplay between a pathogen and the host' s immune system, although fascinating in its own right, can, more importantly, aid us in creating new vaccines and improved antibiotics.
