Dr. Fredrik Vannberg
Post-Doctoral Research Associate
Understanding the interplay between the human host and bacterial pathogens will be crucial for the design of novel therapeutics and vaccines. Our group has been studying human genetic determinants of susceptibility to various bacterial pathogens including M. tuberculosis, M. leprae and S. pneumoniae. Using modern genetic tools we are pursuing genome-wide association studies, quantitative trait loci analysis and rare-variant mapping to genetically dissect human immunity to these important pathogens. We have determined that members of the Toll-like receptor family are important determinants of susceptibility to multiple infectious diseases and suggest possible therapeutic interventions.