Background
The Cook lab uses molecular approaches in conjunction with cell culture and animal models of colonization and pathogenesis to determine how Gram-positive bacterial pathogens colonize the host and lead to disease, with a focus on mucosal surfaces. They work with numerous Gram-positive pathogens, mostly streptococci, to examine interactions between bacterial species, both commensal and pathogenic. The lab's research projects currently focus on two particular host sites, the vaginal tract and the nasopharynx, and the effects of growth in the host on bacterial genetic programs and interactions with the host microbiota.
Education
- Postdoc, University of Illinois at Chicago
- PhD, BS, BA, University of Minnesota
Research Interests
- Microbiology
- Microbial interactions with the host
- Bacterial genetics
