UPGG Tuesday Seminar Series

Guest Speaker: Raphael Valdivia, Ph.D.Associate Professor, Molecular Genetics and MicrobiologyVice Dean of Basic Research Duke University School of Medicine"Developing tools for the genetic analysis of 'genetically intractable' microbes"The Valdivia laboratory focusses on the study of the mechanisms used by obligate intracellular bacterial pathogens to manipulate host cellular functions to replicate, disseminate, and ultimately cause disease. Using a combination of cell biological techniques, biochemistry, genomics, proteomics and molecular biology, the Valdivia lab has identified and characterized bacterial effector proteins that are secreted across membranes to manipulate host cellular functions. The dissection of the function of these virulence factors reveals novel facets of the cell biology of host-pathogen interactions and how bacterial effector proteins are translocated into the host cells.