Our laboratory investigates the molecular and cellular mechanisms of bacterial pathogenesis, with a focus on Shigella flexneri, a human-restricted intracellular pathogen responsible for bacillary dysentery (shigellosis). We integrate bacteriology, cell biology, and advanced microscopy with the infant rabbit model of shigellosis to study Shigella-host interactions across three critical stages of infection: 

  1. Early extracellular colonization in the colonic lumen 
  2. Invasion and intercellular dissemination within the epithelium 
  3. Host innate immune responses that promote pathogen clearance. Innate Immune Interactions