Areas of Specialty
- Host-pathogen interaction
- Structure and function of microbial immune evasion proteins
- Protein-protein interaction
- Drug discovery
My scientific interests are centered on improving our basic understanding of how disease-causing microorganisms subvert and manipulate the host response. My research is currently focused on interactions of the human innate immune system with the causative agent of Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi.
My long-term interests include, i) extending this research to the broad study of immune evasion mechanisms employed by vector-borne pathogens and ii) translating basic research of novel host-pathogen interactions into the development of new therapeutics for controlling infectious and inflammatory diseases.
