Virulence factors

Virulence factors are the entities that assist the pathogen in colonising the host, escaping the immune system and progressing to invasive disease. These factors may be secretory, membrane associated or cytosolic in nature.

Pneumococcal virulence factors

We investigate the role of pneumolysin and other major pneumococcal virulence factors in a range of in vitro and in vivo models and conditions. Our aim is to understand how these bacterial factors lead to colonization or invasive disease and to elucidate their interactions with the host immune system.

Identification of niche-specific virulence factors via experimental evolution of Streptococcus pneumoniae

The pneumococcus is a bacterium that causes severe diseases throughout the world, but particularly in poorer countries. It is the most common cause of death from infectious disease in children under 5. We don't have a vaccine that protects against every type of pneumococcus. What makes pneumococcus so deadly is the ability to adapt to different challenges in different sites within the human body. For example, many people have pneumococcus living harmlessly in their noses and mouths, but the bacteria is also able to survive in the lungs (where it can cause pneumonia) and the lining of the brain (meningitis). This 5 year project aims to explain how pneumococcus thrives in different places. By comparing the genes of bacteria that cause different types of disease we will be able to find out which genes are required for infecting certain organs. we will  then construct bacteria that lack these genes and find out if they are still able to cause disease. This will help us understand what changes in the 'safe' bacteria in our noses allow them to cause disease. I aim to find important bacterial proteins that could be targeted in new vaccines or drugs aimed at controlling pneumococcal disease.