معرفی
Jessica Kelliher, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Her research focuses on host-pathogen interactions, particularly the molecular mechanisms enabling bacterial pathogens to survive in the mammalian cytosol and the host defenses against such infections. She leads the Kelliher Lab, which investigates both pathogen adaptations and host cell-autonomous immunity.
Dr. Kelliher earned her PhD in Microbiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2019 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Medical Microbiology & Immunology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her work integrates bacterial genetics, cell biology, and host-pathogen biology to uncover new therapeutic strategies against bacterial infections.
Her research interests include bacterial signal transduction, cytosolic pathogen survival, and the role of nutrient competition (e.g., phosphate, zinc, manganese) in pathogenesis. Recent studies highlight how pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes adapt to host-imposed nutrient limitations to establish infections.
Dr. Kelliher has published extensively on topics such as bacterial cell wall synthesis, phosphate homeostasis, and metal-dependent enzyme adaptation. Her lab collaborates broadly to translate fundamental discoveries into clinical applications.
