The long-term goal of the Caren L. Freel Meyers Laboratory is to develop novel approaches to kill human pathogens, including bacterial pathogens and malaria parasites, with the ultimate objective of developing potential therapeutic agents. Toward this goal, we are pursuing studies of bacterial isoprenoid biosynthetic enzymes comprising the methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway essential in many human pathogens. Studies focus on understanding mechanism and regulation in the pathway toward the development of selective inhibitors of isoprenoid biosynthesis. Our strategies for creating new anti-infective agents involve interdisciplinary research in the continuum of organic, biological and medicinal chemistry. Molecular biology, protein expression and biochemistry, and synthetic chemistry are key tools for our research.

The C. Kwon Lab studies the cellular and molecular mechanisms governing heart generation and regeneration. The limited regenerative capacity of the heart is a major factor in morbidity and mortality rates: Heart malformation is the most frequent form of human birth defects, and cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. Cardiovascular progenitor cells hold tremendous therapeutic potential due to their unique ability to expand and differentiate into various heart cell types. Our laboratory seeks to understand the fundamental biology and regenerative potential of multi-potent cardiac progenitor cells – building blocks used to form the heart during fetal development — by deciphering the molecular and cellular mechanisms that control their induction, maintenance, and differentiation. We are also interested in elucidating the maturation event of heart muscle cells, an essential process to generate adult cardiomyocytes, which occurs after terminal differentiation of the progenitor cells. We believe this knowledge will contribute to our understanding of congenital and adult heart disease and be instrumental for stem cell-based heart regeneration. We have developed several novel approaches to deconstruct the mechanisms, including the use of animal models and pluripotent stem cell systems. We expect this knowledge will help us better understand heart disease and will be instrumental for stem-cell-based disease modeling and interventions for of heart repair. Dr. Chulan Kwon is an assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University Heart and Vascular Institute.

The Tse Lab does basic and translational research on the function and regulation of sodium/hydrogen exchange-2 isoform, and molecular biology of nucleoside transporters.

The Cammarato Lab is located in the Division of Cardiology in the Department of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. We are interested in basic mechanisms of striated muscle biology. We employ an array of imaging techniques to study “structural physiology” of cardiac and skeletal muscle. Drosophila melanogaster, the fruit fly, expresses both forms of striated muscle and benefits greatly from powerful genetic tools. We investigate conserved myopathic (muscle disease) processes and perform hierarchical and integrative analysis of muscle function from the level of single molecules and macromolecular complexes through the level of the tissue itself. Anthony Ross Cammarato, MD, is an assistant professor of medicine in the Cardiology Department. He studies the identification and manipulation of age- and mutation-dependent modifiers of cardiac function, hierarchical modeling and imaging of contractile machinery, integrative analysis of striated muscle performance and myopathic processes.

Investigators in the Pablo Iglesias Lab use analytic tools from control systems and dynamical systems to study cell biology, including biological signal transduction pathways. Our research interests include the ways cells interpret directional cues to guide their motion, regulatory mechanisms that control cell division, and the sensing and actuation that enable cells to maintain lipid homeostasis.

Research in the Photini Sinnis Lab explores the fundamental biology of the pre-erythrocytic stages of malaria. Our team is focused on the sporozoite stage of Plasmodium, which is the infective stage of the malaria parasite, and the liver stages into which they develop. We use classic biochemistry, mutational analysis, and in vitro and in vivo assays to better understand the molecular interactions between the parasite and its mosquito and mammalian hosts. Our goal is to translate our findings to help develop treatments and a vaccine that target the malaria parasite.

The Arturo Casadevall Lab uses a multidisciplinary approach to explore two key topics within microbiology and immunology: how microbes cause disease and how hosts can protect themselves against those microbes. Much of our research focuses on the fungus Cryptococcus neoformans, which frequently causes lung infections in people with impaired immunity. We also work with the microorganism Bacillus anthracis, a bacterium that causes anthrax and is frequently used in biological warfare. Our goal is to devise antibody-based countermeasures to protect against this and other similar threats.

The Lane laboratory is focused on understanding molecular mechanisms underlying chronic rhinosinusitis, particularly the pathogenesis of nasal polyps, as well as inflammation on the olfactory epithelium. Diverse techniques in molecular biology, immunology, and physiology are utilized to study epithelial cell innate immunity, olfactory loss, and response to viral infection. Ongoing work explores how epithelial cells of the sinuses and olfactory mucosa participate in the immune response and contribute to chronic inflammation. The lab creates and employs transgenic mouse models of chronic nasal/sinus inflammation to support research in this area. Collaborations are in place with the School of Public Health to explore mechanisms of anti-viral immunity in influenza and COVID-19.

Work in the Rachel Damico Lab explores topics within the fields of vascular biology and pulmonary medicine, with a focus on acute lung injury and apoptosis in lung diseases. Our studies have included examining idiopathic and scleroderma-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension, vascular receptor autoantibodies, and the link between inflammation and the Warburg phenomenon in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. We have also researched the inhibitory factor of macrophage migration and its governing of endothelial cell sensitivity to LPS-induced apoptosis.

Research in the Nathaniel Comfort Lab looks at the history of biology. Areas of particular interest include heredity and health in 20th century America, genetics, molecular biology, biomedicine, the history of recent science, oral history and interviewing.