Jeanne Salje

Jeanne Salje is a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow and Principal Investigator at the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research (CIMR), University of Cambridge, where she leads research on the fundamental biology of obligate intracellular bacteria within the Department of Pathology, School of Clinical Medicine. Her work focuses on Orientia tsutsugamushi, the causative agent of scrub typhus, which affects over 1 million people annually with a 6% fatality rate in untreated cases.

Her research explores bacterial cell biology, host-pathogen interactions, and membrane trafficking mechanisms in intracellular pathogens. Key interests include developmental differentiation of O. tsutsugamushi, bacterial manipulation of host cytoskeleton, genome evolution in fragmented pathogens, and development of novel diagnostics. Her lab employs advanced techniques including super-resolution microscopy, dual RNA-seq, and chemical probes for intracellular bacteria.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals consistent focus on O. tsutsugamushi pathogenesis, with emerging themes in bacterial motility mechanisms, strain virulence variation, and genomic plasticity. Her work bridges fundamental cell biology and translational applications for neglected tropical diseases.

Scientific recognition includes:

• Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow

Her research group includes PhD students and postdoctoral researchers in Cambridge and Bangkok, supported by Wellcome Trust funding. Current projects address unmet needs in scrub typhus diagnostics and treatment through long-standing collaborations in Southeast Asia. Her lab develops innovative methods for studying genetically intractable intracellular bacteria, including super-resolution imaging techniques and metabolic labeling approaches.

The Salje lab maintains active research partnerships in Thailand, focusing on field applications of their basic science discoveries. Their work on O. tsutsugamushi motility, differentiation, and genome biology provides critical insights for developing new interventions against this neglected pathogen.