Brian Stevenson, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Selected publications

Laboratory page

Research statement: Lyme disease is caused by the spirochetal bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. Spread by the bites of certain tick species, it is the most common arthropod-borne disease in the United States. B. burgdorferi has evolved mechanisms by which it can infect both mammalian and arthropod hosts, and be efficiently transmitted between these two very different types of animals. To do so, B. burgdorferi senses its environment and responds accordingly by producing proteins appropriate for each step in the infectious cycle. We are investigating regulatory mechanisms by which B. burgdorferi controls synthesis of infection-associated proteins. Interactions between bacterial and host proteins that confer resistance to clearance by host innate immune responses are also being studied.

A second species of spirochete, Leptospira interrogans, causes leptospirosis, an important disease of humans and domestic animals throughout much of the world. As does the Lyme disease spirochete, this water-borne bacterium is capable of persistently infecting many organs and tissues. Our studies are focusing on elucidating mechanisms underlying L. interrogans infection, including evasion of host immune responses and control of virulence factors .