Research

Host-pathogen immunometabolic crosstalk

We study how metabolic signals shape interactions between hosts and bacterial pathogens. Our work has shown that immune-derived metabolites, which normally support host defense, can be hijacked by pathogens to promote their survival inside host cells—a phenomenon we term immunometabolic crosstalk.

Human population-level infection dynamics

A defining feature of human infection is that only a subset of individuals exposed to a pathogen develops clinical disease—a complexity that cannot be fully captured in animal models. In addition, many important pathogens, including Salmonella Typhi, are restricted to humans and therefore cannot be studied using conventional animal systems.

Effects of antibiotics on immunometabolism

Antibiotics have been studied for decades for their antimicrobial activity, yet their effects on host immunity remain incompletely understood. In our lab, we have discovered that antibiotics can directly modulate immune responses in a cell type– and activation state–dependent manner through targeting conserved mitochondrial pathways.