Fellow: Dr. John Shamoun
Mentor: Dr. Megan Jacob
Topic: Understanding the role of Escherichia coli (UPEC) in urinary tract infections.

The goal would be to establish what a typical UPEC gene transcription profile looks like, and how the strains differ when compared to the previously discussed patient information. Additionally, we will corroborate the RNAseq data with assays designed to document biofilm formation, hemolysis (due to toxins), and others; if a strain exhibits high expression of genes that encode for biofilm, and it produces biofilm when directly assessed for its formation, it will give credence to our findings. We will also document how the transcription profile changes when exposed to treatments or changing environmental conditions. Finally, once we document a pattern of gene expression based on disease process, we can
attempt to interfere with or block the function of these virulence factors to help the immune system fight off the bacteria. A few possible therapeutic targets have been proposed, including vaccines against heavy metal receptors and proteins on the outer membrane of the bacteria.