Bacterial Pathogens
There are many different bacteria that cause many diseases. At the University of Michigan Medical School Department of Microbiology & Immunology, we study a wide variety of gram-positive and gram-negative pathogens.
A common method to classify bacteria is Gram staining which distinguishes between gram-positive (the bacteria turns blue) and gram-negative bacteria (which do not retain the stain and are red or pink). The term “Gram” refers to a specimen staining method developed by Hans Christian Gram in 1884. It involves staining an organism with crystal violet or methylene blue dye and then observing the organism under a microscope.
Areas of Investigation
Some of the pathogens include:
- Mucosal pathogens: Campylobacter jejuni, E. coli, Helicobacter pylori, Proteus mirabilis, Vibrio cholerae
- Intracellular pathogens: Legionella pneumophila, Listeria monocytogenes)
- Select agents: Bacillus anthracis, Brucella spp., Yersiniapestis, Mycobacteria tuberculosis).
- Toxin secretion (cholera toxin) and antimicrobial and therapeutic agent: Actinomycetes, Cyanobacteria, Myxobacteria spp.
Other aspects of study include vaccine development and mathematical modeling of infection.
Faculty researching Bacterial Pathogens
Michael Bachman, MD, PhD
Suzanne Dawid, MD, PhD
Philip C Hanna, PhD
Denise E Kirschner, PhD
Eric C Martens, PhD
Mary O'Riordan, PhD
Maria Sandkvist, PhD
Patrick Schloss, PhD
David H Sherman, PhD
Evan Snitkin, PhD
Michele Swanson, PhD
Vincent Bensan Young, MD/PhD, FIDSA, FAAM
