Smita Gopinath

Research Description

Our body is colonized by a robust and diverse ecosystem termed the commensal microbiome. When mucosal pathogens infect us, they first encounter our commensals before they encounter and activate our immune response. We are interested in studying the interactions between the commensal microbiota, pathogens and the host immune response in the one place they must necessarily meet – the mucosa. We have multiple projects aimed at studying the mechanisms by which pathogens activate and evade the mucosal immune response and how these interactions are modulated by the microbiota, in both the gut and vaginal mucosa. We will examine these interactions using bacterial (Salmonella) and viral (Herpes Simplex Virus) pathogens. Our goal is to generate and test new ideas for vaccine and drug candidates to better protect people against infectious disease.