mechanisms of HOst-Pathogen Interactions
In the Lamason lab, we investigate how intracellular bacterial pathogens such as Rickettsia parkeri and Listeria monocytogenes hijack host cell processes to promote infection. We use cellular, molecular, genetic, biochemical, and biophysical approaches to elucidate the mechanisms of host-pathogen interactions in order to reveal key insights into pathogenesis and host cell biology.
RECENT Lab News
March 16, 2024: Our preprint describing new genetic tools for inducible gene expression and targeted gene silencing in Rickettsia has landed. Thanks to authors Jon, Annie, Desmond, and David for their hard work!
February 27, 2024: Graduate student Allen Sanderlin successfully defended his thesis today. Well done Dr. Sanderlin!
February 5, 2024: Congrats to Brandon for publishing his invited review about using Rickettsia spp. as model microbes. A huge community effort has made much of our current work possible and we appreciated the opportunity to highlight these prior contributions alongside the many questions still open for investigation.
January 23, 2024: Welcome to our newest undergraduate researcher, Clara Zhu! Clara is working with Brandon and brings her enthusiasm for both science and art to the team. Welcome!
November 17, 2023: If you love effectors as much as us, go check out our latest preprint from Grad students Allen Sanderlin and Hannah Margolis, and summer student Abby Meyer, using BONCAT to find new effectors secreted by Rickettsia parkeri.
September 14, 2023: Congrats to Yami on her beautiful talk at the CSHL Microbial Pathogenesis & Host Response meeting!
July 31, 2023: Welcome to our new technician, Maisie Smith. Maisie recently graduated from Haverford College, and we’re excited for her to join the team.
July 8, 2023: Brandon represented team rickettsia with a great talk at the annual meeting for the American Society for Rickettsiology. Way to go!
July 7, 2023: Farewell to our amazing technician Annie. She is headed off to get her Ph.D. at BU. Good luck Annie!
June 13, 2023: Allen gave a spectacular talk at the Boston Bacterial Meeting today, wowing the crowd with his work on rickettsial secreted effectors.
June 6, 2023: Yami’s preprint was just posted to bioRxiv detailing an exciting new interkingdom membrane contact site formed between the endoplasmic reticulum and Rickettsia parkeri.
June 5, 2023: Welcome to the lab Abby Meyer! Abby will be working with Hannah this summer as a member of the MSRP-Bio program.
May 17, 2023: Welcome to our newest lab member, Caroline Anderson. Caroline was an undergraduate at Duke University and is now a graduate student in the MIT Microbiology program.
April 25, 2023: Congrats to former UROP Desmond Edwards for being named a Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow!
LATEST PAPERS
An expanded genetic toolkit for inducible expression and targeted gene silencing in Rickettsia parkeri (preprint)
Pathogenic Rickettsia spp. as emerging models for bacterial biology
Cell-selective proteomics reveal novel effectors secreted by an obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen (preprint)
An obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen forms a direct, interkingdom membrane contact site (preprint)
