The Walker Lab
Welcome to Our Lab
We combine multiple scientific disciplines to define the host-pathogen interactions that determine the onset, course, and outcome of chronic infections. Using medical device infections as a model for chronic infections, we are currently pursuing the following questions:
How do medical devices become infected?
Medical device infections are the primary cause of hospital-associated infections. Despite their prevalence, it is unclear whether device infections occur due to contamination by bacteria from the hospital setting or through the persons’ own microbiome. Additionally, why some individuals develop asymptomatic or subclinical infection while others display symptomatic infection remains unknown. We use a translational approach to investigate the bacterial strains causing these infections to identify biomarkers that may predict infection risk and be developed into better surveillance and prevention strategies.
2. How do medical devices render people susceptible to infection?
Interactions between the host and atypical, or “less pathogenic”, bacteria generally result in infection resolution. However, medical devices alter these interactions, rendering people susceptible to these bacteria, which results in symptomatic infection. Yet, the mechanisms by which medical devices facilitate infection remains largely unknown. To dissect these mechanisms, we combine multiple disciplines to investigate the inflammatory response induced following device placement and determine how that response influences infection outcome. This work seeks to develop prevention and treatment strategies.
3. What are the staphylococcal mechanisms that facilitate medical device infections?
Staphylococci, including S. aureus and S. epidermidis, cause the majority of implanted medical device infections and form recalcitrant communities on the device surface. We use an interdisciplinary approach to investigate the host-staphylococcal-device interactions that facilitate infection to develop antibiotic-sparing therapies.
