My Profile

 

I am Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Professor of Medicine, and Canada Research Chair in Infectious Diseases and Microbial Pathogenesis.

I earned a MD degree from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1976, and acquired further specialization in Clinical Pediatrics with a heavy concentration on Infectious Diseases by 1980. Between 1980 and 1983 I worked in the Virology-Serology Laboratory at the Children's Hospital "Ricardo Gutierrez" in Buenos Aires as a research fellow. This was a critical time in my career as I discovered my passion for research under the supervision of Saul Grinstein. Saul was not only a great supervisor and friend but also a true mentor who encouraged me to think boldly and act accordingly. The experience in his laboratory opened a new world for me and it was there where I became interested in mechanisms of bacterial pathogenicity.

In 1983, I began my training in molecular biology as a Research Fellow under the supervision of J. H. Crosa, in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Oregon Health Sciences University. In 1988 I moved to Canada where I began my independent scientific career in the University of Western Ontario. I am a Member of the Canadian Bacterial Diseases Network and served as a Chair of the Microbiology and Infectious Diseases grant review panel from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (1997-2000).

My laboratory is internationally known for our research on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) genetics and biosynthesis. LPS is a complex glycolipid molecule located on the surface of Gram-negative bacteria. Our lab studies enzymes and other proteins involved in LPS synthesis, with the purpose of utilizing the information for designing new antimicrobials. Since bacteria with defects in the LPS molecule are more sensitive to a variety of antibiotics and can be readily killed by host defensive mechanisms, LPS synthesis inhibitors may provide an additional tool to combat bacterial infections.

In recent years we have become keenly interested in the pathogenesis of Burkholderia cepacia. This microorganism is a major health risk for children and young adults with the genetic disease cystic fibrosis. B. cepacia colonizes these patients and its presence is associated with a deterioration of the lung function. The transmission of this organism occurs from patient to patient and the vehicle of transmission is unknown. We discovered that B. cepacia can survive in free-living amoebae and macrophages, and survival involves the bacterial ability to escape intracellular killing by the host cells. We have also developed novel molecular tools to genetically manipulate B. cepacia. Studies using genomics and proteomics approaches as well as experimental infections in several animal models, macrophages, and C. elegans are being conducted to investigate the properties of B. cepacia involved in the pathogenesis of lung infection and the interaction of this bacterium with the innate immune system.

 

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