Christopher LaRock

Christopher LaRock is an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and the Division of Infectious Diseases at Emory University School of Medicine. His research focuses on host-pathogen interactions, particularly studying Group A Streptococcus (GAS) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa pathogenesis mechanisms.

Dr. LaRock received his BS in Microbiology & Molecular Genetics from Michigan State University (2000-2005), followed by a PhD in Microbiology from the University of Washington (2006-2013). He completed a Postdoctoral fellowship in Pediatrics at the University of California San Diego (2013-2017) before joining Emory University as an Assistant Professor (2017-2022) and subsequently being promoted to Associate Professor (2022-present).

His research interests center on understanding how bacterial pathogens interact with the host immune system, with a particular focus on inflammasome activation, pyroptosis, and IL-1 family cytokine processing. His laboratory investigates the molecular mechanisms by which Group A Streptococcus evades host immune responses and causes disease, including the role of bacterial proteases in modulating host inflammatory responses. His groundbreaking work has revealed how bacterial proteases from GAS (streptopain) and P. aeruginosa (LasB) directly activate or subvert host inflammatory pathways, particularly those involving IL-1β and IL-18.

Dr. LaRock's recent publications demonstrate a consistent research trajectory focused on bacterial virulence mechanisms and host immune detection. His work spans from fundamental discoveries about how bacterial proteases manipulate host inflammatory pathways to translational research developing therapeutic inhibitors for these virulence factors. His 2022 Nature paper on GSDMA-dependent pyroptosis in keratinocytes represents a significant contribution to understanding skin immunity against GAS.

• Burroughs Wellcome Fund Investigator in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease (2022-2027)
• NIAID R01AI180089 "GSDMA roles in skin innate immune defense" (2024-2029)
• NIAID R01AI153071 "Proteolytic regulation of the Streptococcus pyogenes cell surface" (2021-2025)
• NIAID K22AI130223 "IL-1 regulation of group A Streptococcus infection" (2018-2020)

Dr. LaRock actively mentors students and postdoctoral researchers in microbiology and immunology. His laboratory receives substantial funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, supporting research into bacterial pathogenesis and host immune responses. He serves as a peer reviewer for numerous prestigious journals including Nature Microbiology, PLOS Pathogens, Infection and Immunity, and the Journal of Immunology, with over 40 peer review activities documented across 23 publications and grants.

His laboratory, the LaRock Lab, focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms of bacterial virulence and host-pathogen interactions, with current projects examining how bacterial proteases manipulate host inflammatory responses and how host cells detect and respond to bacterial infection through inflammasome activation and pyroptosis.