Jeffrey N. Weiser
Professor, Depts of Microbiology and Pediatrics

Microbiology, Virology and Parasitology Program

Address

Rm.#403-404,
Department of Microbiology,
Johnson Pavilion,
36th & Hamilton Walk
Philadelphia, PA19104

Office tel.: 215 573-3511
Lab tel.: 215 573-3510
Fax: 215 573-4856
E-mail: weiser@mail.med.upenn.edu

Dr. Weiser's Microbiology Faculty Page

Standford University: BS (Biology), 1979.

Harvard University: MD (Medicine), 1984.

Oxford University: Fellowship (Bacterial Pathogenesis), 1989.

Rockefeller University: Post-doc 1992.

Research Interests

• Molecular basis of infectious diseases

Key words: Bacterial pathogenesis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, colonization, microbial competition.

Description of Research

The Weiser lab investigates the molecular basis of host-pathogen interaction for bacteria that reside in and infect the human respiratory tract. Most studies focus on the pathogenesis of Streptococcus pneumoniae because of its prominence as a cause of acute respiratory tract infection. Other pathogens under investigation in the laboratory include Haemophilus influenzae, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus. Many projects focus on colonization of the mucosal surface of the upper airway, the initial step in the disease process. Both host and bacterial factors affecting colonization are under investigation. In general these studies utilize bacterial genetics to examine effects of specific microbial genes together with mouse models of colonization that allow for the use of genetically-modified hosts.

On-going projects examine:

• How colonizing microbes stimulate and evade innate immune clearance mechanisms.
• How the cellular immune responses acts to clear pneumococcal colonization.
• Mechanisms that facilitate interspecies competition within a host.
• Mechanisms of competition between co-colonizing pneumococci.
• Pneumococcal interactions with neutrophils and mechanisms to evade killing by professional phagocytes.
• The host-microbe battle for acquisition of iron on the mucosal surface and its implications for inflammation.
• The potential of live attenuated vaccines that colonize and induce protective immunity but are avirulent
• The role of phosphorycholine, a surface constituent of many respiratory tract pathogens, in pathogenesis.

Recent Publications

Matthias KA, Roche AM, Standish AJ, Shchepetov M, Weiser JN. Neutrophil-toxin interactions promote antigen delivery and mucosal clearance of Streptococcus pneumoniae. J Immunol. 2008. 80:6246-54.

Kadioglu A, Weiser JN, Paton JC, Andrew PW. The role of Streptococcus pneumoniae virulence factors in host respiratory colonization and disease. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2008. 4:288-301.

Lysenko ES, Clarke TB, Shchepetov M, Ratner AJ, Roper DI, Dowson CG, Weiser JN. Nod1 signaling overcomes resistance of S. pneumoniae to opsonophagocytic killing. PLoS Pathog. 2007 Aug 24;3(8):e118.

Gould CV, Sniegowski PD, Shchepetov M, Metlay JP, Weiser JN. Identifying mutator phenotypes among fluoroquinolone-resistant strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae using fluctuation analysis. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2007. 51:3225-9.

Beisswenger C, Coyne CB, Shchepetov M, Weiser JN. Role of p38 MAP kinase and transforming growth factor-beta signaling in transepithelial migration of invasive bacterial pathogens. J Biol Chem. 2007;282:28700-8.

Ratner AJ, Aguilar JL, Shchepetov M, Lysenko ES, Weiser JN. Nod1 mediates cytoplasmic sensing of combinations of extracellular bacteria. Cell Microbiol. 2007;9:1343-51.

Roche AM, King SJ, Weiser JN. Live attenuated Streptococcus pneumoniae strains induce serotype-independent mucosal and systemic protection in mice. Infect Immun. 2007;75:2469-75.

Dawid S, Roche AM, Weiser JN. The blp bacteriocins of Streptococcus pneumoniae mediate intraspecies competition both in vitro and in vivo. Infect Immun. 2007;75:443-51.

Search PubMed for more articles

Lab

Rotation Projects

There are many possible projects in areas of bacterial genetics, host-pathogen interaction, and host immune response. Please contact Dr. Weiser directly.

Lab personnel

Kim Davis - Thesis Student-CAMB
Ankur Dalia - Thesis Student -CAMB
Aoife Roche - Thesis Student - Trinity University, Dublin
Eugenia Guseynova – Business Administrator
Elena Lysenko, Ph.D. – Senior Scientist
Alistair Standish Ph.D. – Postdoctoral Fellow
Thomas Clarke Ph.D. - Postdoctoral Fellow
Misha Shchepetov - Research Assistant
Christoph Beisswenger, Ph.D. – Postdoctoral Fellow
Zhe Zhang Ph.D. - Research Associate
Tracey Zola Ph.D. - Postdoctoral Fellow
Michalel Bachman M.D., Ph.D. - Postdoctoral Fellow