Pamela Wearsch

Pamela Wearsch is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Her research focuses on the molecular mechanisms of immune recognition and bacterial pathogenesis, particularly the role of extracellular vesicles in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection. She developed in vitro assays to study antigen processing and MHC class I peptide loading.

• Education: PhD in Cell Biology from Duke University, postdoctoral work at Yale University (HHMI).
• Research Projects: Investigate Mtb membrane vesicle biogenesis, immune evasion strategies, and intercellular communication via vesicles.

Her work has elucidated how Mtb-derived vesicles transport virulence factors to manipulate host immune responses and how tapasin-ERp57 heterodimers optimize MHC class I peptide loading. This research has implications for tuberculosis diagnosis and therapeutic development.

Key scientific domains include immunology, cell biology, microbiology, and biochemistry. Her publications address antigen processing, vesicle-mediated signaling, and bacterial virulence mechanisms.