Abstract
The success of Vibrio cholerae as a water-borne pathogen is dependent upon dissemination from its human host to the aquatic environment and a successful return to the small intestine where it elicits cholera. These transitions are stressful and made even more difficult by pervasive virulent bacteriophages (phages). Insight into the interaction of phages with V. cholerae enhances our understanding of the life cycle of this pathogen and may aid in the development of phage products to treat or possibly prevent cholera. Using a variety of genetic methods and animal models of infection, dissemination and transmission, we characterize the impact of phages on the V. cholerae life cycle. We show that phages exert a profound influence on V. cholerae infection and transmission. We are using the knowledge gained to develop a phage-based preventative.
Biography
Andrew Camilli is a Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology & Microbiology at Tufts University School of Medicine and also an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1987 from the University of Michigan, his Doctorate of Philosophy in Microbiology under Dr. Daniel Portnoy in 1992 from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and did postdoctoral training under Dr. John Mekalanos at the Harvard University School of Medicine. He has been a faculty member at Tufts University since 1995. Professor Camilli’s laboratory studies the life cycles of two human pathogens, Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of cholera, and Streptococcus pneumoniae, a major cause of bacteria pneumonia, meningitis and otitis media. He is also developing vaccines and phage products to prevent bacterial infections.