Research Statement
My laboratory is working to define mechanisms by which pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli colonize diverse host niches, persist, and spread in the face of numerous environmental stresses, innate and adaptive host defenses, aggressive competition with other microbes, and exposure to antibiotics. We are especially interested in understanding how intraspecies genetic diversity and bacterial adaptive responses impact host-microbe interactions and the manifestation of variable disease phenotypes. Our ongoing work indicates that even closely related bacterial strains can vary markedly in their ability to cause disease, dependent in part on host and environmental cues, input from neighboring microbes (the microbiota), and the specific gene sets carried by individual pathogens. To understand how environmental and evolutionary forces shape host-pathogen interactions, my lab employs a variety of experimental approaches and disciplines, including microbiology, microscopy, cell and molecular biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, genetics, and genomics, as well as cell culture, mouse, and zebrafish models of localized and systemic infections.
Research Keywords
- Bacteria, pathogens, host-pathogen interactions, E. coli, UTI, sepsis, bacteremia, antibiotic resistance, virulence, infection models, bacterial genetics
Grants, Contracts & Research Gifts
- MICROBIAL PATH T32 GRANT. PI: MULVEY,MATTHEW A. NIH NATL INST ALLERGY & INFECT, 08/01/2023 - 07/31/2024. Total project budget to date: $398,087.00
- MULVEY - DOD. PI: MULVEY,MATTHEW A. US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, 09/01/2022 - 08/31/2025. Total project budget to date: $1,903,264.00
- FLAGELLIN VARIANTS ON SEPSIS. PI: MULVEY,MATTHEW A. NIH NATIONAL INST OF GENERAL M, 08/01/2019 - 04/30/2024. Total project budget to date: $1,525,086.00
Languages
- English, fluent.