Carrie L. Shaffer

Carrie L. Shaffer is an Assistant Professor at the University of Kentucky with joint appointments in the Department of Veterinary Science, the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, and the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Her laboratory is based at the Gluck Equine Research Center and focuses on the molecular mechanisms of bacterial secretion systems.

Her research explores the complexity of dynamic bacterial nanomachines, particularly type IV secretion systems (T4SS), using interdisciplinary approaches including advanced microscopy, chemical biology, genetics, and biochemistry. She aims to understand how pathogens like Helicobacter pylori assemble and deploy T4SS to deliver virulence factors into host cells, leading to chronic inflammation and cancer. A major focus is the development of chemical tools to dissect T4SS biogenesis and to design small molecules that can disrupt these systems as potential therapeutics.

The Shaffer Lab investigates three core areas: (1) the architecture and topology of bacterial nanomachines, (2) microbial interactions with host cells, and (3) the battle between host defenses and microbial evasion. Using in vitro infection models, reporter cell lines, and collaborations with institutions like Caltech, her team studies effector delivery, immune modulation, and structural organization of secretion systems in vivo.

Though no specific publications or awards are listed in the provided text, her research program is highly integrative and translational, aiming to uncover fundamental mechanisms of bacterial virulence and to develop novel anti-infective strategies. She is actively building a research program at the interface of chemistry and biology, with implications for infectious disease and cancer biology.

• Laboratory: Shaffer Lab
• Research Center: Gluck Equine Research Center
• Collaborations: California Institute of Technology (Caltech)