Richelle Charles

Research Description

The overall goal of the Charles lab is to decrease the global burden of enteric infections affecting resource-poor and marginalized populations. Diarrheal diseases remain the third leading cause of death in resource-limited countries that lack access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation; they are the fifth leading cause of death worldwide. Diarrheal episodes reduce productivity at the community level and contribute to intestinal barrier dysfunction, which perpetuates a cycle of malnutrition, infection, disease, and poverty.

The Charles lab is part of multicenter collaborative efforts with sites in the US, Asia, and Africa that have been focused on broadening our understanding of host-pathogen and immune responses during human infection and vaccination, primarily focused on Vibrio cholerae (the cause of cholera) and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (the primary causes of enteric fever) but have expanded to emerging infections including SARs-CoV-2 and Mpox. Work in my laboratory involves 1) characterizing immune responses during human infection and post-vaccination, 2) evaluating host-pathogen interactions, and 3) developing rapid diagnostics and seroepidemiological tools for diarrheal diseases to improve vaccine strategies, improve clinical management, and address critical gaps in our understanding of the global burden of these infections.