Biomedical Graduate Studies

Description of Research Expertise

My lab is interested in uncovering innate immune mechanisms used by the host to defend itself against bacterial pathogens and how bacterial pathogens evade host immunity to cause disease.

We study innate immunity and host:pathogen interactions using a variety of gram-negative bacteria, including the intracellular bacterial pathogens Legionella pneumophila, Coxiella burnetii, and Salmonella Typhimurium, and the extracellular pathogen Yersinia, with the goal of identifying shared and unique features of innate immunity and bacterial virulence.

A major focus of our lab is to understand how the immune system distinguishes between virulent and avirulent bacteria and tailors appropriate antimicrobial responses. One key immune pathway involves the inflammasome, a multi-protein cytosolic complex that activates the host proteases caspase-1 and caspase-11 upon cytosolic detection of bacterial products. These caspases mediate the release of IL-1 family cytokines and other inflammatory factors critical for host defense, but overexuberant activation can lead to pathological outcomes such as septic shock. We are currently pursuing how mouse and human inflammasomes and other cell death pathways are differentially regulated in response to bacterial infection.

We are also interested in elucidating how the immune system successfully overcomes the ability of pathogens to suppress critical host functions. We recently found that infected macrophages circumvent Legionella's ability to block host translation by selectively synthesizing and releasing key cytokines. These cytokines then coordinate crosstalk between the alveolar epithelium and bystander immune cells to generate an effective immune response. We are interested in defining additional mechanisms that the immune system uses to circumvent pathogen virulence activity to promote antimicrobial defense.

Insight into these different areas will advance our understanding of bacterial pathogenesis, how the innate immune system distinguishes between virulent and avirulent bacteria and initiates antimicrobial immunity, and will ultimately aid in the design of effective antimicrobial therapies and vaccines.

Prospective students and postdocs are encouraged to contact Dr. Shin to learn more about our research.

Lab personnel:
Salimatou Bah- Undergraduate Student (FERBS fellow)
Suhas Bobba, Ph.D.- Postdoctoral Fellow (co-mentored with Igor Brodsky)
Frankie Boyer- PennPREP Postbaccalaureate Fellow
Mark Boyer, M.S.- Research Specialist C
Klarissa Diaz- Undergraduate Student (FERBS Fellow)
Daniel Getachew- Undergraduate Student (Vagelos Scholar)
Mikel Haggadone, Ph.D.- Postdoctoral Fellow (AHA fellowship)
Emily O'Rourke- Graduate Student (CAMB-MVP; AHA fellowship)
Rachel Richards- Graduate Student (CAMB-MVP; Penn Presidential fellowship)
Stephanie Schreiner- Graduate Student (IGG; NSF fellowship)
Jaydeen Sewell- Graduate Student (CAMB-MVP; diversity supplement)
Matthew Sherman, Ph.D.- Postdoctoral Fellow (co-mentored with Igor Brodsky)
Talia Smith- Undergraduate Student (Vagelos Scholar)
Victor Vazquez Marrero- Graduate Student (IGG; NSF fellowship)
Kimberly Wodzanowki, Ph.D.- Postdoctoral Fellow
Ling Wu, M.D., Ph.D.- Pulmonary and Critical Care Instructor