#TOLL2024

Read Pukkila-Worley

Lecture Title: Bacterial Metabolite Patterns of Pathogenesis in Intestinal Immunity

Read Pukkila-Worley, MD is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology at UMass Chan Medical School.  His laboratory studies immune activation and regulation in intestinal epithelial cells.  Building on the principle that evolution shaped host-pathogen interactions, Dr. Pukkila-Worley’s lab defines conserved mechanisms of pathogen sensing and innate immunity. His laboratory primarily investigates the pathogenesis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a critically important human pathogen, using a variety of approaches, including investigations with the genetic model host Caenorhabditis elegans. He serves as attending physician on the infectious disease consult service at UMass Memorial Medical Center and educates the next generation of scientists and physician-scientists at UMass Chan, both in his laboratory as a Ph.D. thesis mentor and as a director of a major medical student course.