Research in the Janet Record Lab focuses on medical education and patient-centered care. We’re currently developing a curriculum for internal medicine residents in the inpatient general medicine service setting. The curriculum teaches residents to use hand-carried ultrasound for imaging the inferior vena cava to assess volume status.

We leverage both yeast and mammalian systems to study the processes of mRNA translation and mRNA stability.

Research in the Padmini Ranasinghe Lab focuses on internal and preventive medicine, with an emphasis on health and wellness and international health.

The SIP Lab studies the mechanisms of normal and disordered swallowing. The team conducts research in the areas of swallowing rehabilitation after stroke, effects of aging on swallowing and measurement of swallowing physiology.

Research in the Joseph Margolick Lab focuses on the many effects of HIV/AIDS on human health. We are particularly interested in the mechanisms of T-cell loss and preservation among people infected with HIV and the evaluation of human immune functions.

Research in the David Sack Lab focuses on enteric infections. Our team has worked to develop laboratory detection methods to better understand the epidemiology of these agents. We also work to create appropriate clinical management strategies, such as antibiotics and rehydration methods, for enteric infections. Our work has included participating in the development of vaccines for a range of bacterial infections, including rotavirus, cholera and enterotoxigenic E. coli.

Research in the William Checkley Lab explores the field of lung health, with an emphasis on the epidemiology of obstructive lung diseases as well as acute lung injury and mechanical ventilation. We also explore the interactions between nutrition and infection, and the impact of environmental exposures to health.

Our research focuses on the biology of the peptidoglycan of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the organism that causes tuberculosis, and Mycobacteroides abscessus, a related bacterium that causes opportunistic infections. We study basic mechanisms associated with peptidoglycan physiology but with an intent to leverage our findings to develop tools that will be useful in the clinic to treat mycobacterial infections. Peptidoglycan is the exoskeleton of bacteria that not only provides structural rigidity and cell shape but also several vital physiological functions. Breaching this structure is often lethal to bacteria. We are exploring fundamental mechanisms by which bacteria synthesize and preserve their peptidoglycan. Although our lab uses genetic, biochemical and biophysical approaches to study the peptidoglycan, we pursue questions irrespective of the expertise required to answer those questions. It is through these studies that we identified synergy between two beta-lactam antibiotics against select mycobacteria.

Researchers in the Henry Michtalik Lab are interested in patient safety—particularly as it relates to patient census statistics and acute to primary care transitions—and quality improvement and systems management.

The key research interests in the Robert Bollinger Lab include identifying biological and behavioral risk factors for HIV transmission as well as characterizing the clinical progression and treatment of HIV and related infectious diseases. We also have a long-standing interest in optimizing health care capacity and delivery in settings with limited resources. Our work includes implementing science research projects to explore the effectiveness of initiatives such as task-shifting, clinical education, distance learning and mobile health programs as a way to improve health care in these locations.