Host-Pathogen Seminars
The MGH/HMS monthly Host-Pathogen Interactions seminar series was launched back in 1997 by Laurence Rahme, Ph.D., with the purpose of fostering collaboration by providing a platform for networking among the diverse population of researchers working in this field, across the greater Boston area and beyond. With a rich history of over two decades, the series has invited countless speakers conducting cutting-edge research in laboratories from different disciplines within MGH/HMS, other Boston area institutions and around the globe. We welcome a wide variety of presentations – both published and preliminary findings; descriptions of novel techniques or applications of established assays in the context of host-pathogen interactions; basic and translational science, as well as clinical research work.
Mondays at 1:00 - 2:00pm over Zoom—Connect with other researchers!
For questions, getting on the e-mail list/RSVP, and to suggest a speaker for next season, please contact: atsurumi@mgh.harvard.edu.
Community Building Success Story
Arijit Chakraborty, Ph.D. had been following December 2019 speaker, David Gregory, Ph.D.’s work for years, well before he moved to Boston—little did he know that he would end up attending his talk and seeing him around at the Host-Pathogen Seminar series!
David Gregory, Ph.D. (left) and Arijit Chakraborty, Ph.D. (right)
Past Speakers
2020-21 Season Speaker List
September 14, 2020 - Mihaela Gadjeva, PhD (BWH): Novel Treatment Strategies and Targets to Handle Pseudomonas aeruginosa-Induced Infections
October 19, 2020 - Mohammad Ahsan Saad, PhD (MGH): The Photodynamic effect: localized toxicity and microenvironmental modulation"
November 9, 2020 - Bryan Bryson, PhD (MIT): Engineering the host-pathogen interface
December 14, 2020 - Soumita Das, PhD (UCSD): "Gut-in-a-dish" model to study host-microbe interactions in chronic inflammatory diseases
January 11, 2021 - Arijit Chakraborty, PhD (MGH): Pseudomonas aeruginosa Quorum Sensing signaling small molecule alters host lipid homeostasis
February 8, 2021 - David Medina Cruz, PhD (Northeastern): Bacterial nano-biofactories - Novel antimicrobials in the post-antibiotic era
March 15, 2021 - Edward Geisinger, MD, PhD (Northeastern): Global circuitry controlling Acinetobacter resistance and virulence
April 12, 2021 - Paula Watnick, MD, PhD (BCH): Microbial metabolites and host pathways required for microbial control of intestinal innate immunity and metabolism
May 10, 2021 - Christina Faherty, PhD (MGH): The Role of Bile in the Regulation of Shigella Pathogenesis
2019-20 Season Speaker List
October 21, 2019 - Uelinton Pinto, Ph.D. (MGH): “Quorum Sensing in bacteria and its influence on microbial interactions with plants, humans, foods and beyond”
November 18, 2019 - Wai-Leung Ng, Ph.D. (Tufts): “The roles of quorum sensing in Vibrio cholerae pathogenesis”
December 9, 2019 - David Gregory, Ph.D. (MGH): “Using biological variation between species as a guide to innate immune regulation”
January 13, 2020 - Mohammed Khan, Ph.D. (MGH): “Pharmacologically Targeting Alpha7 Acetylcholine Receptor Inhibits Inflammation and Muscle Atrophy”
February 10, 2020 - Ali Zomorrodi, Ph.D. (MGH): “Predictive computational models of microbe-microbe and host-microbe interactions using genome-scale network models of metabolism”
March 9, 2020 - Mihaela Gadjeva, Ph.D. (BWH): canceled due to Covid-19
April 13, 2020 - Edward Geisinger, Ph.D. (Northeastern): canceled due to Covid-19
May 11, 2020 - Bryan Bryson, Ph.D. (MIT): canceled due to Covid-19
2018-19 Season Speaker List
November 12, 2018 - Amin Mahpour, Ph.D. (MGH/PI: Alan C. Mullen, M.D., Ph.D.): “Close Encounters: the lncRNA Kind”
December 10, 2018 - Panakaj Baral, Ph.D. (HMS/PI: Isaac Chiu, Ph.D.): “Neuronal Regulation of Host Defense in Bacterial Lung Infection and Lethal Pneumonia”
January 14, 2019 - Koichi Yuki, M.D. (BCH): “Sepsis, Integrin, and Anesthesia”
February 11, 2019 - Liz Nolan, Ph.D. (MIT): “Metals and Immunity: Exploring Metal Sequestration by Calprotectin”
March 11, 2019 - Jeffrey Duncan (MGH/PI: Marcia Goldberg, M.D., Ph.D.): “A Host-Induced Conformational Change to the Shigella Type 3 Secretion System Translocon Pore”
April 8, 2019 - Bobby Cherayil, M.D. (MGH): “The beginning and end of typhoid: from the gut to the bone marrow”
May 13, 2019 - Michael Gilmore, Ph.D. (MEEI/Broad): “Enterococci: Ultimate host/microbe model, and how properties they evolved led to trouble in the antibiotic era”